How much would you spend on a work-related item...

[threebikesmcginty]

I often travel and I don't claim for all the snacks and drinks eiher.

Only because you're too embarrassed to put in a claim for a firkin of ale and three hundredweight of pork scratchings

 

[threebikesmcginty]

...eating a half-kilo bag of fresh scratchings...it took me three days...

Three days, devotion to duty Mort!!

 

[srw]

Apart from suits, ties, shirts, shoes and a car, I'll happily stump up my own money on occasion to take my colleagues out for drinks - I did it a couple of nights ago to celebrate my promotion. Total bill £550, shared between two of us. It was a fun night, and also helped cement relationships. When I'm travelling I don't tend to bother claiming for food and drink beyond meals - some of my members of staff will happily claim £1.50 for a cup of coffee.

 

[beanzontoast]

I have a friend who's a teacher - she regularly spends her own money on items for the classroom, something I'm told is not uncommon in teaching, especially in primary. She even asked for one of her Christmas gifts last year to be a classroom item to improve the environment for her pupils.

Quite amazing dedication.

 

[Arch]

I once blew £200 at the haberdashery counter in Peter Jones on samples and forgot all about it, lost the receipt, didn't claim for months afterwards, by which time my relationship with the accounts assistant (she called herself the accountant) had deteriorated to zero, so I ended up saying 'you know what, I'll pay for this shoot) which felt good for all of about five seconds afterwards.

I must tell my Mum that I know someone who spent £200 at the haberdashery counter in Peter Jones. She'll be green with envy. I think if she had £200 to spend at the haberdashery department in Peter Jones, she'd keel over from sheer excitement and indecision.

With regard to the OP - last year I spent £20 on a hi-vis coat for work, off York market, and didn't realise I could have claimed for it, if I'd got a receipt. Didn't bother me, I needed the coat, and it was cheap, and being a Small, it won't fit anyone else, so it's mine really, not work's. I bought some new steel toecapped boots today, I'll get the money for them, because I got a receipt.

I also use my mobile for short work calls sometimes, but I was told that in lieu of that, I can use the work phone if I need to at lunchtime for domestic odds and ends (and internet if I need to). I rarely need to, but I could. And we get free tea, and sometimes cake, and my tactic of collecting dregs means I won't have to buy washing up liquid for a couple of years...

 

[marinyork]

Books would be where I am thinking moreso. As a Software Developer, I tend to need to study for exams to keep fresh, and the books often aren't cheap (£20-£45).
Gets a bit tricky as to whether I am studying to further myself or not, and whether the employer benefits. If the employer suggests the training, or if it closely matches my job role, they would often be prepared to buy the books. However, I tend to buy my own as I can take them from company to company and I'm not overly concerned about damage to them (unlike if they belonged to someone else or the company).

Bit hypocritical surely? When it comes to students they should be paying thousands of pounds in fees according to you because they get the benefit, but when you yourself get the benefit for much smaller amounts of money it somehow magically doesn't apply and you feel the need to moan about it. At least be consistent!

 

[vernon]

I have a friend who's a teacher - she regularly spends her own money on items for the classroom, something I'm told is not uncommon in teaching, especially in primary. She even asked for one of her Christmas gifts last year to be a classroom item to improve the environment for her pupils.

Quite amazing dedication.

Sadly such dedication is expected but is rarely rewarded. I'd rather poke sharpened sticks in my eyes than teach in a primary school.

 

[Reiki_chick]

Prior to discovering cycling a car was an essential for work,

MacB - do you work in the circus?

 

[mgarl10024]

Bit hypocritical surely? When it comes to students they should be paying thousands of pounds in fees according to you because they get the benefit, but when you yourself get the benefit for much smaller amounts of money it somehow magically doesn't apply and you feel the need to moan about it. At least be consistent!

Perhaps I didn't explain myself too well.

- If I want to study x, then I will buy the books. (This I'd say was like the students - they choose to go to uni).
- If I use x in my job role, I'll approach my employer, who may support me by buying the books. (This would be similar to [I forget the name] an apprenticeship where the person works for the employer but also goes to college for a qualification). In this situation, I often choose to buy my own copies for reasons stated earlier.
- If the employer says (as happened to me) 'we don't have anyone with knowledge in x, will you study it?' and I see that it is in my interest to add to my cv, then I'll offer my free time, but I would expect them to pay for the books.

Hope that's a bit clearer.

 

[Stig-OT-Dump]

£450 for a drysuit. But then again, would I be on site if I didn't have it?

 

[brokenbetty]

I slightly begrudge buying work clothes, but then I think "if I were in a job where I didn't need to wear a suit I probably wouldn't earn as much." and then it doesnt bother me.

I'd much rather be paid a decent wage and have to buy a suit than get peanuts plus suit allowance.

 

[yello]

I'd much rather be paid a decent wage and have to buy a suit than get peanuts plus suit allowance.

Yes, that's the sane and rational response.

Sadly, I have what our American cousins call an 'attitude problem'. On really bad days, I felt as though my soul was being hung out to dry, every last drop of self identity having been wrung from me. I was lucky, self employment offered me a way out for a good deal of my working life.

 

[cyberknight]

I used to spend hours a week as the union learning rep researching stuff for people until i realized that 99 % of them just wanted free courses in works time to leave the company , which obviously is not going to get funded and that the company should pay me for it anyway