Home office equipment for employees – as a managed service

Do employers have to equip the home office?

Under German law, a permanently installed display workstation in an employee's home (Telearbeit under the Workplace Ordinance) must be provided by the employer, furniture included. For mobile working the duty is narrower, but the Occupational Safety Act still applies: you assess risks, instruct employees and ensure healthy conditions.

In practice, any company offering home office permanently needs a structured equipment approach – either as a benefit in kind or a budget with clear rules. A cash allowance alone does not solve the safety obligation.

Benefit in kind or cash allowance – which is cheaper?

A paid-out allowance counts as taxable salary for employees and carries social-security contributions for you. Of every gross euro, only about half arrives as actual equipment value. Provide work equipment instead and its use stays tax-free for employees, while the cost remains a deductible business expense.

Ownership adds to that: provided equipment stays your asset and can be reused after someone leaves. With an allowance, the money is gone.

What does a home office workstation really cost?

A solid initial setup with a good chair, height-adjustable desk, monitor and lighting quickly reaches EUR 1,500 to 2,500 per person when purchased – plus procurement, delivery, assembly, repairs, internal administration and collection. Those side costs are a large share of the effort and appear on no supplier quote.

As a monthly service they become predictable operating cost that scales with your headcount. Model your own case with our home office cost calculator.

What about the works council?

Home office arrangements and the technical systems used for them are subject to co-determination. We supply the building blocks a works agreement needs: transparent budget logic, employee choice, documented ergonomics and a data-protection concept without performance monitoring.