[News] Nigel Farage and Reform

[A1X]

A lot of my friends work from home and go into the office twice a week. They all say they find that the right mix.

Anyway, it has to be said…..what f***ing business is it of any politician, especially a two-bit shyster like Farage, where anybody works from? That’s an arrangement between the employer and the employee and absolutely out of the purview of any politician.

Get out of it.

Reform seem very keen to tell people what to do both with regards to their working habits and how many kids they should be having. Which is odd given
Farage and his ilk are usually whinging about “the nanny state”.

 

[Bodian]

We already have quite good provision for families though. That shouldn’t be ignored. Maternity leave and paternity leave aren’t benefits available in all countries.

Presumably Reform would get rid of paternity leave though - because that was only introduced as part of woke DEI policies.......

 

[Bry Nylon]

WFH can work well for those with suitable and well equipped home offices / cabins in their garden etc, a secure and established role in their organisation and a broad range of interests outside of work.

However, for very many younger people, WFH means working off a laptop in their bedroom and isolated from the social aspect of work that can be so important when starting out in a career. It’s not the panacea many make it out to be.

 

[A1X]

To be fair, the HMRC are apparently already trying to tax some work from home workers

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/income/remote-workers-to-face-shock-tax-bills/

There are plenty of imaginative ways of raising tax revenue in a modern economy, the fact the Treasury is a monolith stuck in the 1950s which only ever wants to pull the same 4 or 5 levers over and over again shouldn’t blind anyone to that

 

[Bodian]

WFH can work well for those with suitable and well equipped home offices / cabins in their garden etc, a secure and established role in their organisation and a broad range of interests outside of work.

However, for very many younger people, WFH means working off a laptop in their bedroom and isolated from the social aspect of work that can be so important when starting out in a career. It’s not the panacea many make it out to be.

No, you're right - it's not the ideal for everyone. But Farage wants to take away the choice and flexibility. It works for some, doesn't for others.

 

[A1X]

WFH can work well for those with suitable and well equipped home offices / cabins in their garden etc, a secure and established role in their organisation and a broad range of interests outside of work.

However, for very many younger people, WFH means working off a laptop in their bedroom and isolated from the social aspect of work that can be so important when starting out in a career. It’s not the panacea many make it out to be.

Never said it was a panacea, but for many workers it’s been a sea change in thinking and forcing everyone back into a straitjacket because of a few scenarios where it doesn’t work is just stupid and no way to run a business / country

(Typo amended)

 

[pocketseagull]

To be fair, the HMRC are apparently already trying to tax some work from home workers

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/money/tax/income/remote-workers-to-face-shock-tax-bills/

They're not taxing anyone WFH, they're reclaiming tax relief that was claimed when not applicable.

 

[TomandJerry]

They're not taxing anyone WFH, they're reclaiming tax relief that was claimed when not applicable.

Apologies, I misunderstood the article

 

[The Clamp]

Never said it was a panacea, but for many workers it’s been a sea change in thinking and forcing everyone back into a straight jacket because of a few scenarios where it doesn’t work is just stupid and no way to run a business / country

Sorry

*strait jacket

As you were

 

[Sid and the Sharknados]

WFH can work well for those with suitable and well equipped home offices / cabins in their garden etc, a secure and established role in their organisation and a broad range of interests outside of work.

However, for very many younger people, WFH means working off a laptop in their bedroom and isolated from the social aspect of work that can be so important when starting out in a career. It’s not the panacea many make it out to be.

I'm not sure how many companies insist that their employees have to work from home though, and I'd be as against that as I am the idea that we all have to troop in to work 9-5 in the office or we're not doing the job properly.

I work with a couple of really properly good graduates who simply wouldn't be in their jobs if they hadn't had the option to work from home for some of the time in their first year or so.

 

[A1X]

Sorry

*strait jacket

As you were

This is a Reform thread, only straights welcome

(I apologise for the typo)

 

[dsr-burnley]

Raise taxes elsewhere. Undo the Tory NI cut from last year, for example. But there are multiple new ways of raising tax which haven’t yet been exploited which could tie in with WFH arrangements such as taxing home delivery services, broadband access etc.

Broadband is already taxed at 20% and home delivery (at least if it's a diesel van) is taxed much higher than that. They could put VAT on stamps, I suppose.

 

[TomandJerry]

I'm not sure how many companies insist that their employees have to work from home though, and I'd be as against that as I am the idea that we all have to troop in to work 9-5 in the office or we're not doing the job properly.

I work with a couple of really properly good graduates who simply wouldn't be in their jobs if they hadn't had the option to work from home for some of the time in their first year or so.

"13% of Brits work exclusively from home, while 28% are hybrid workers."

 

[pocketseagull]

TBF 13% of Brits work exclusively from home doesn't mean they've been compelled to. At my work some 100% WFH and others hybrid, it's their choice.

 

[TomandJerry]

TBF 13% of Brits work exclusively from home doesn't mean they've been compelled to. At my work some 100% WFH and others hybrid, it's their choice.

Absolutely and I can't seem to find any data to know what % have been compelled to do so, but WFH workers save around £2,000 a year on average - just on travel expenses.

"The average person travelling to work every day will spend almost £2,000 on commuting costs over a year. This is 7% of the average income for a UK worker."

 

[Bodian]

Absolutely and I can't seem to find any data to know what % have been compelled to do so, but WFH workers save around £2,000 a year on average - just on travel expenses.

"The average person travelling to work every day will spend almost £2,000 on commuting costs over a year. This is 7% of the average income for a UK worker."

So, that's a payrise of 7%, which they can go out and spend. What's your problem with this?

 

[Bodian]

"13% of Brits work exclusively from home, while 28% are hybrid workers."

Of course, a decent percentage of self-employed people are based out of their home. Where are they meant to suddenly 'go' to work?

 

[TomandJerry]

So, that's a payrise of 7%, which they can go out and spend. What's your problem with this?

I'm just trying to explore why Farage is against work from home.

Loss of revenue from office blocks / VAT & tax seem to be the main driver

 

[TomandJerry]

Of course, a decent percentage of self-employed people are based out of their home. Where are they meant to suddenly 'go' to work?

I'd be curious to find out the numbers of those who work from home for large/medium companies versus self employed people

 

[ManOfSussex]

I'm just trying to explore why Farage is against work from home.

Loss of revenue from office blocks / VAT & tax seem to be the main driver

It's because we need to go back to how things used to be in the good old days. Nobody WFH then. Nowadays it's just political correctness gone mad.