Being forced to purchase a laptop in order to work from home

[fuxkinbliss]

Hi,*

Due to the coronavirus outbreak, my mum's work is asking all staff to work from home. The problem with this is that my mum does not currently own a laptop and has no need for one. Since this decision had been lingering for a while, my mum had previous told her bosses that she did not have a laptop and was told she would receive one if they were ordered to work from home. Today my mum was told that starting tomorrow, she is either required to work from home (which means having to purchase a laptop), come into the office (she would be the only one in the building) and put her health at risk (she has high blood pressure and has been medicated for a few years) or go without any pay until the current global situation is over. When she inquired about the laptops, she was told that they had all been taken and there was none left even though she was previously told she would be one of the first to get one. Now my mum does not want to take any action since she has been working there for 17 years and has decided to purchase a laptop which she has no need for and will be a huge waste of money, however I believe this is extremely unfair and the company should be made to either compensate for the laptop she will purchase or provide her with one (which they would most likely need to buy). I would like some advice on whether the company is breaking any employment regulations and if there is anything we can do to sort this situation out so she does not have to purchase an unnecessary, expensive item that she will use only until this situation has been resolved. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

James

[ULA]

We are dealing with an unprecedented situation and I would guess that some companies are having to put in place new working arrangements quite quickly.

Ordinarily whilst there is no legal obligation for an employer to supply equipment necessary for homeworking, I would suggest that given your Mum already told them she did not have a laptop and they agreed to provide her one they have in essence done an about turn. However, there may be a legitimate reason i.e. they underestimated how many they would need when they ordered them in, given the rapidly changing circumstances.

In the first instance maybe see if the company would be willing to reimburse your Mum for the cost of one, on the basis they provide the specification and once "normality" resumes she can then hand it back to the company.*