Working from Home: Expenses and Work Accidents

The computer you use while working from home may be your own, and the same internet connection may serve both work and personal needs. That raises a familiar question: which expenses arising when work moves into the home belong to the employee, and which to the employer?

A similar uncertainty concerns safety. Whether an accident at home counts as a work accident, and whether the employer is liable, cannot be answered merely by checking whether it happened during working hours.

Working from home does not, by itself, remove the employer's obligations. But the provision of a computer, the payment of electricity expenses, and the legal consequences of an accident are governed by different rules.

Computers, internet and electricity: different expenses, different rules

Article 14 of Labour Law No. 4857 and the Remote Work Regulation establish the basic framework for remote work. For expenses, it is important to distinguish work tools from expenses required for the job and from arrangements to the workspace.

Start with tools. Under Article 7(1) of the Remote Work Regulation, the employer is generally to provide the materials and tools needed for the work unless the employment contract provides otherwise. The contract therefore matters for items such as a computer and monitor. Article 413 of the Turkish Code of Obligations (TCO), Law No. 6098, likewise provides that the employer supplies the necessary tools and materials unless there is an agreement or local custom to the contrary. If the employee agrees to dedicate their own tool to the work, appropriate compensation is due unless an agreement or local custom provides otherwise.

Electricity and internet expenses involve a different limit. Article 8 of the Regulation requires the contract to address how necessary expenses directly related to the work are identified and covered. Article 414(3) of the TCO states (English translation):

“Agreements under which the employee personally bears necessary expenses in whole or in part are invalid.”

The contract may therefore explain how expenses are identified and paid, but it cannot validly shift necessary work expenses onto the employee.

Expense	Basic approach	Legal basis
Computer, monitor and necessary work tools	Generally supplied by the employer unless the employment contract provides otherwise.	Regulation Art. 7; TCO Art. 413
Necessary electricity and internet expenses directly related to work	Work-related necessary expenses should be covered; personal consumption must be distinguished from work use.	Regulation Art. 8; TCO Art. 414
Necessary arrangements to the workspace	The employee and employer determine together how the costs will be covered.	Regulation Art. 6
Occupational health and safety measures	Their cost cannot be passed on to employees.	Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331, Art. 4(4)

For example, an additional internet service needed to perform the job is not necessarily treated the same as an existing household subscription also used for personal purposes. Rather than assuming that the employer must pay every household bill, the connection to work, necessity and scope of the claimed expense should be established.

A fixed monthly allowance may also be agreed. Under Article 414(2) of the TCO, it must be provided for in a written employment or collective agreement and must not be less than the amount needed to cover necessary expenses. What matters is not simply whether a payment is made, but whether it covers the relevant necessary expenses.

Can unpaid electricity expenses affect termination?

The allocation of expenses is not merely a matter of monthly budgeting. In some disputes it can also affect the termination of the employment contract. Sakarya Regional Court of Appeal, 9th Civil Chamber, file E.2023/68, decision K.2024/490, dated 06.03.2024, illustrates why the timing of payment matters.

In that case, an employee working from home during the pandemic terminated the contract on 12.08.2021. The employer paid the electricity expense on 19.08.2021, after the termination. The appellate court found that the expense remained unpaid when the employee terminated the contract and upheld the finding of just cause for termination and the award of severance pay. It dismissed the employer's appeal on the merits.

Payment after termination thus did not change the court's assessment of the position at the time of termination. The decision also noted, in its reasoning about tools and materials, that the parties had not agreed otherwise.

The case shows that remote-work expenses can have legal consequences for an employer. It does not establish that every delay in paying an expense automatically gives rise to just cause for termination and severance pay. The nature of the expense, the duty to pay it, the timing of payment and the grounds for termination must be considered together.

When is an accident at home a work accident?

Safety is as important as expenses. Under Article 12 of the Remote Work Regulation, the employer must, having regard to the nature of the work, inform the employee about occupational health and safety measures, provide the necessary training and health surveillance, and take safety measures concerning the equipment it supplies.

Arrangements to the workspace should also be considered in this context. If an employee requests a chair, for example, the question is whether it is a personal preference or a safety measure required by the nature of the job and identified risks. In the latter case, the rule against passing the cost of occupational health and safety measures on to employees in Article 4(4) of Law No. 6331 must be observed.

When an accident occurs, the assessment is made under Article 13 of Social Insurance and General Health Insurance Law No. 5510. The law covers different circumstances, including an event occurring while an insured person is at the workplace and an event arising from work carried out by the employer. The same type of connection to work should not be assumed to be required in every case.

For a fall at home or a heart attack at a computer, relevant matters include whether the working area qualifies as a workplace, where and when the event occurred, what the employee was doing, and the working arrangements. Setting out the place and hours of work in the contract can help establish the facts, but those terms alone do not determine the legal outcome.

There is a further distinction: whether an event is classified as a work accident and whether the employer owes compensation are separate questions. Under Article 417 of the TCO, the employer's duty of protection, any breach, harm, causation and the applicable rules of liability must be assessed separately. Classification as a work accident does not automatically establish a right to compensation from the employer.

Put working arrangements and expenses in writing

These distinctions are easier to apply when the terms of remote work are clear. In line with Articles 5 and 9 of the Regulation, the written contract should in particular specify:

• Where the work will be performed, the working time interval and the means of communication.
• Who owns the computer and other tools, and the terms of delivery, use, maintenance and repair.
• How necessary expenses will be identified, documented and paid.
• The scope and amount of any fixed expense allowance.

Occupational health and safety information, training, health surveillance and equipment safety must also be put into practice. Adding a clause to the contract is no substitute for fulfilling those duties.

Employees may find it useful to retain expense records and relevant correspondence and seek written clarification from the employer where arrangements are unclear. If an accident occurs, its location, time and circumstances, together with medical records, should be documented; the employer should be informed, and the notification requirements under Article 13 of Law No. 5510 should also be observed.

Conclusion

Remote work does not automatically transfer the costs of the job or responsibility for safety to the employee. Equally, no single answer settles which expense must be covered, who should own the computer or whether an event at home counts as a work accident.

For expenses, the key distinction is between personal consumption and necessary costs of the job. The employer's safety obligations continue when work is performed from home, but the classification of an accident and liability for compensation require separate assessments. Clear written arrangements and consistent record-keeping help both parties understand and, where necessary, establish their rights and obligations. A signature, however, cannot validate a term that unlawfully shifts necessary expenses or occupational safety costs to the employee.