A Dundee employment law specialist has criticised Google’s plans to cut its employees’ pay if they continue working from home.
The California-based technology giant has developed a pay calculator that lets workers see the effects of working remotely.
Some remote employees, especially those with a long commute, could have their pay cut.
“Our compensation packages have always been determined by location, and we always pay at the top of the local market based on where an employee works from,” a Google spokesperson told Reuters.
Noele McClelland, employment law partner at Dundee-based legal firm Thorntons, has criticised the plans.
Ms McLelland, who has nearly 20 years’ experience in employment law, said pay should be attributed to work done and working from home should not be a consideration.
“An employee’s pay should always be attributed to the work done, and the value placed on a position,” she says.
New Google policy could lead to claims
Ms McLelland said Google’s plans could lead to discrimination claims.
“Especially when employees are being paid less for carrying out the same work (or work of equal value) to a colleague who happens to be working from the office or the reason for working from home relates to childcare or disability,” she added.
She said enhancements are usually given where an employee lives in an area where the cost of living is high.
The London living wage rate is £10.85 per hour.
That is more than £1 per hour more than the rest of the UK, to accommodate a higher cost of living.
Working from home ‘should not be a factor’
Ms McLelland said: “This new pay policy from Google brings into question the wider issue of what is taken into account when determining salaries.
“A policy such as this certainly doesn’t consider that staff may have higher utility bills and other costs due to working from home, and other discrepancies will doubtlessly arise.
“For example, an employee could live within walking distance of their office and have no travel costs.
“But if they work in the office, then, under Google, they would be paid more than someone working from home despite accruing no bills in their commute.
“If a person works from home, regardless of where they live, this should not be a deciding factor when their employer is calculating how much their role is worth.”