Trade unions have won a €363 annual payment for civil servants who work at home in their latest pay and conditions agreement, according to a report by RTL Nieuws.

It is the first time that a specific payment for home working has been included in a statutory pay deal, and the amount was based on calculations by family spending institute Nibud, RTL said.

Nibud said this summer that people working from home are spending an extra €500 a year on average to cover the costs of not being in the office. Home workers consume more gas, water and electricity by day, as well as extra essentials such as coffee and toilet paper, Nibud said.

The Nibud calculations, which include 70 cents for six cups of coffee or tea, 2.5 cents for toilet paper and €1.20 for gas and electricity, are based on a 40 hour week. Civil servants work a standard 36 hours, hence the lower amount.

The FNV trade union federation said at the time it planned to make a home working payment part of the coming pay round.

Coronavirus has led to an increase in people working from home, but four in five workers cannot do so because of the limits of the job, national statistics agency CBS said in August. Some 20% of people now ‘take work home’, compared with between 10% and 15% of workers in 2019, the agency said.

The new civil service pay deal also includes a 0.7% pay rise, on top of the 2% increase earlier this year, a €225 one-off bonus and bike lease scheme. New fathers and partners will also get five weeks fully paid leave, rather than 70%.