Darren Butler

Hi, I am getting confused on this issue as a few days ago I posted this question: Good evening, I work for a local authority as a Building Control Surveyor. Since Covid, we work from home and carry out site visits directly from home. Around once a week I travel to the office to collect files, printing etc. I do not have an assigned desk at the office, as we now have to 'hot desk' should we need time in the office and since covid and our one office was closed, thus there is now not enough desks for all employees if we were all there at the same time at the remaining office. I therefore feel that my place of work is now my home, as this is where I am based and I travel directly to site and return without going to the council office at all. Due to this fundamental change, I feel that now my place of work is actually my home and therefore can I claim business mileage from my home address and not the office address which I rarely attend and if I do so it could be for a few minutes, or a team meeting once a month? And this response appeared on the thread: Posted 5 days ago by HMRC Admin 10 'Hi As there is still an office presence and a desk available, your place of work is still the office so any mileage would be based from there and not your home.' However, is my situation not similar to the recent message, although we have different roles, but that same fundamental situation regarding home working, minimal office attendance and where we can claim mileage? As I said previously, I work from home, but only attend the office to collect files and printing and the occasional monthly or bi-monthly meeting which would take 1.5 hours. Therefore, out of my contracted 37 hours per week, I might spend on average 30 minutes per week actually in the office. If we were fully paperless I wouldn't have to attend office at all, except for the team meeting every 1-2 months. Do I thus have two places of work, with 2% of my time at the office and 98% working at home and travelling directly from home to site and then returning directly home, or is my place of work my home? Please confirm. Many thanks.

Good evening, I work for a local authority as a Building Control Surveyor. Since Covid, we work from home and carry out site visits directly from home. Around once a week I travel to the office to collect files, printing etc. I do not have an assigned desk at the office, as we now have to 'hot desk' should we need time in the office and since covid and our one office was closed, thus there is now not enough desks for all employees if we were all there at the same time at the remaining office. I therefore feel that my place of work is now my home, as this is where I am based and I travel directly to site and return without going to the council office at all. Due to this fundamental change, I feel that now my place of work is actually my home and therefore can I claim business mileage from my home address and not the office address which I rarely attend and if I do so it could be for a few minutes, or a team meeting once a month? With best regards,