Insuring work laptop during commute?

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Jonnyb
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Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by Jonnyb »

Hi, I've started hybrid working with 2 days at home using a company laptop. They say I'm responsible for it, implying if it gets damaged, I have to pay for it.

Is this normal? I'd expect the company to have insured it with the expectation it'll be used for hybrid working. Would bike insurance even cover something that I don't own?

Would like other people's experience before going back to employer (only just joined).
slowster
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by slowster »

Jonnyb wrote: 4 May 2022, 10:59am They say I'm responsible for it, implying if it gets damaged, I have to pay for it.
It is normal for employers to tell employees that they are 'responsible' for company property which is issued to them. That does not necesssarily mean that the employee must pay for replacement if the item is damaged or destroyed. What is usually means is that the employee should take appropriate care of the item. In the case of a laptop that would mean for example not leaving it lying around in plain view where it might attract a thief, e.g. on the seat of a parked car. I suggest you clarify the matter with your employer, since you may have inferred something which they did not seek to imply.

If the laptop is supplied for use for both home and office, I would expect the employer to supply a suitable padded carrying case with it. If you are commuting with panniers on a bike or a backpack, a carrying case might be too large, in which case I suggest you buy or request a padded laptop sleeve.
axel_knutt
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by axel_knutt »

Did you ask them if you could work from home, or did they ask you? They may not have an insurance policy that covers it if they've made an exception for you as a favour.
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chris_suffolk
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by chris_suffolk »

I had something similar a few years ago, when I was told that I would have to claim against my house insurance for their laptop if stolen or damaged whilst out of the work place. Simple solution, I just refused to take it out, and they changed their tune as they wanted me to work other than in the office.
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by Vorpal »

Jonnyb wrote: 4 May 2022, 10:59am Hi, I've started hybrid working with 2 days at home using a company laptop. They say I'm responsible for it, implying if it gets damaged, I have to pay for it.

Is this normal? I'd expect the company to have insured it with the expectation it'll be used for hybrid working. Would bike insurance even cover something that I don't own?

Would like other people's experience before going back to employer (only just joined).
This is not normal. It is the company's property. If you take reasonable care of it & something happens to it, they should replace it. You are only responsible to take ordinary precautions and follow any instructions they have given you for physical & data security. How you transport it has nothing to do with who covers it.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
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thirdcrank
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by thirdcrank »

Jonnyb wrote: 4 May 2022, 10:59am Hi, I've started hybrid working with 2 days at home using a company laptop. They say I'm responsible for it, implying if it gets damaged, I have to pay for it.

Is this normal? I'd expect the company to have insured it with the expectation it'll be used for hybrid working. Would bike insurance even cover something that I don't own?

Would like other people's experience before going back to employer (only just joined).
I think part of your problem here is that you seem to be reaching your own conclusions about the meaning of what you may have been told.

Whether they spell it out or not, it's an implied conditions of your contract of employment that you look after the company's property. It couldn't be any other way. It's not clear what "they say" means. If you've been given it in writing, the wording is important. If it's a case of the manager who issued you with it saying "You better look after it, or else." then you are no further forward. On the matter of insurance, I doubt there's any policy generally available that indemnifies against gross negligence. There'd be no incentive to look after anything.
Psamathe
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by Psamathe »

My own home insurance covers items up to a set value when away from home but above a value threshold they have to be declared and listed and might attract an increase in the premium (maybe not immediately but maybe on next renewal).

If relying on your home policy to cover the laptop whilst travelling and at home, double check your home policy covers it.

My working from home experience is now 20 years out of date but back then laptops, etc. were the responsibility of the company not my responsibility.

Ian
Jonnyb
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by Jonnyb »

Hybrid working was on offer as part of the interview, so not just me doing it.

It has to be a company laptop as it has software to log onto the company servers. And that's what I interpreted responsible as, take care, don't leave it unattended, etc. But what if I'm robbed, traffic accident, etc between home and work?

The IT support guy asked his team lead and they implied I'm responsible for any damage as it might cost company more than laptop is worth if they claim, suggesting it's insured but they want to land me with the costs.

I got a basic backpack, no sleeve, and only told it's not waterproof a week later! IT said check with HR, HR said ask IT. Of course they did.

I'll ask a colleague who rides a motorbike.
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by Vorpal »

Your company should have an IT or remote working policy, stating what equipment can be removed and what to do if it is stolen &/or there is a potential security breach. The company I work for have a separate policy for mobile computing, with information about remote access and security, but nothing about being 'responsible' for it.

remote working / mobile computing policies usually include stuff like:
-company IT equipment used for remote work shall only access the company network using approved software and/or VPN
-users shall take reasonable care to ensure equipment is secure and protected from theft or damage
-data is only backed up when connected to the company network; users are responsible to back up periodically if working whilst not connected to the network
-the company reserve the right to remotely remove (wipe) data from any company device that is stolen, lost, or removed without permission

edited to add: if it's worth more than the laptop is worth to claim, surely they will just wipe the data & get a new one? I'm pretty sure that's what my company would do.
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thirdcrank
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by thirdcrank »

I think insurance is a bit of a red herring here in that it isn't a way of looking after something but rather a way of getting the £££ back if things go wrong.

As I posted before, it's an implied term of a contract of employment that you look after your employer's stuff. If you don't, then the employer's normal remedy wold be through discipline, which might ultimately be the sack. For the employer to be able to recover anything like this through stoppages, then AFAIK it would have to be a formal condition in your contract of employment usually in writing. Otherwise, if they did decide to go after you for the cost, it would involve civil proceedings in this case for negligence and so long as you hadn't done anything daft they'd be wasting their time. If somebody else caused the damage, eg the driver of a motor vehicle knocking you off your bike, then the computer would be part of your claim against them. And I think it would be reasonable for your employer to expect you to pursue that claim, rather than take the line that it wasn't your computer so no need to bother
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by Vorpal »

I knew someone in the UK that was involved in a crash on the way to work which destroyed his employer's computer. IIRC, the company provided information for a claim to the driver's insurance company. I don't think there was much for the victim to do, except inform his employer that they could make a claim.
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simonineaston
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by simonineaston »

If we think about the way things used to be, we might suppose that nobody took their work pc home, it being expressly for work, so there would be no need to make arrangements for insurance cover when it was out of the office. We will disregard the fact that it's common practice in some trades / professions to take work home. But now that your work arrangements expressly include working from home, then it makes sense to think about the additional risks that arise from the hybrid working practices.
This is a relatively new development and I don't think there are established practices yet. I would consult your union representative - and if you are not in a union, I would consider joining one.
S
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thirdcrank
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by thirdcrank »

Perhaps the most obvious example of taking home expensive stuff belonging to the employer is a motor vehicle. That normally has to have certain insurance by law, but not every risk is covered. eg Not all insurance companies will cover the theft of a vehicle if it's taken with the keys left in the ignition. That's the type of case where the typical owner/driver is ultra careful and a company car user may be a bit san fairy ann.
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by Vorpal »

simonineaston wrote: 4 May 2022, 1:39pm This is a relatively new development and I don't think there are established practices yet. I would consult your union representative - and if you are not in a union, I would consider joining one.
It's not new in the sense that many companies have had some employees who had to travel as part of their jobs (e.g. purchasing or sales representatives) or worked from home in the evenings, as well as in the office during business hours. The company I worked for in the UK had policies to cover remote work, even 20 years ago. I'm confident that they were not the only ones. So, even smaller companies should have caught up by now? I haven't looked, but I expect that there are templates on the internet.
“In some ways, it is easier to be a dissident, for then one is without responsibility.”
― Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Jonnyb
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Re: Insuring work laptop during commute?

Post by Jonnyb »

My motorbike riding colleague said it's never come up that he had to insure his work laptop, nor others he knows ride to work.

I'm going to ask my manager to clarify and also reread the company's IT policy, as I remember only general misuse and abuse, nothing about taking out insurance.

I'll update when I get a clear answer.
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