Smart working in winter raises a blunt question: if your home office is freezing, who foots the heating bill—the employee or the boss? Italian law has an answer, and it’s not the one many expect.
A designer in Turin sips lukewarm coffee, cardigan zipped up to the chin, Slack pinging while the thermostat stares back with silent defiance. She rubs her hands, opens a spreadsheet, and thinks of the radiators in the office that once hummed like a low, steady promise.
You can almost hear the boiler clearing its throat—and your wallet doing the same.
A message pops up: “Let’s jump on a quick call?” She reaches for a blanket. The decision sits somewhere between comfort, cost, and the law. A small, stubborn knot of a question remains. Who pays for the heat?
What the law actually says about heating in smart working
Italian “lavoro agile” lives in Law 81/2017. It gives flexibility on where you work and when, with a written agreement to set boundaries, tools, and the right to disconnect. Here’s the tough core: **there is no rule that forces an employer to pay your home heating**. The employer must inform you about health and safety risks and provide training, tied back to Legislative Decree 81/2008, but the home environment is largely your realm.
Pictured in emails from HR: a policy note, a safety checklist, a reminder that your place must be “idoneo” for work. A copywriter in Milan asked if the company would cover winter heating while he worked two days from his kitchen. The answer was short. “Not by law.” Some colleagues later secured a small daily allowance through union talks, enough to ease Wi‑Fi and coffee, not to power a radiator all day. It felt fair to some, symbolic to others.
Here’s the logic most lawyers use. At the office, temperature standards and comfort are the employer’s legal burden. At home, you choose the place and keep control. The employer still owes you information on risks and accident coverage under INAIL when the injury is tied to work. They may also provide equipment or a monthly stipend if agreed. **Heating remains a mixed personal expense unless your contract says otherwise**, and that’s where collective agreements or company policies can change the picture, case by case.
Cold reality, warm solutions: how to work without burning your budget
Start with micro‑comfort instead of heating the whole house. Work from the smallest room you have and close the door. Use a desk heater with an auto shut‑off, a heated throw, and thick socks. Time your focused work for the warmest slice of the day, then park email in cooler hours. If you control zones, heat just the work bubble for 45‑minute sprints. Little rituals matter—for example, a pre‑call warm‑up walk around the block lifts body temperature and attention in one go.
We’ve all lived that moment when you delay turning on the heat, then type faster as if speed could warm your fingers. Be kind to yourself. Rotate layers and fabrics; merino under a light sweater beats a bulky fleece that traps sweat. Move the desk away from a window draft and place a rug under your chair for radiant comfort. Let’s be honest: nobody does that every day. Start by changing one thing you can stick with—like a heated pad under the desk—and build from there.
Ask for support the smart way. Bring data to the conversation: your smart working days, the room you heat, your average monthly cost spike in winter, and what small allowance would offset the difference.
“The law doesn’t impose heating reimbursement in smart working, but it doesn’t forbid it either. Agreements are where winter gets negotiated,” says a labor lawyer in Rome.
- Propose a seasonal top‑up (November–March) tied to remote days.
- Suggest an energy‑saving kit: heated throw, desk heater, draft stoppers.
- Ask for a co‑working pass on icy weeks instead of paying the gas bill.
- Check tax treatment: flat allowances are often taxed like salary.
- Document your setup with photos and a short safety self‑assessment.
The fine print you can’t feel, but should know
Law 81/2017 makes a clear pivot from old‑school “telelavoro”. Telework fixes your workstation at home and mirrors office hours; smart working lets you choose the place and rhythms by phases and goals. That detail steers responsibility. Under the smart‑working model, the employer must train and inform you about general and specific risks, define control rules, and ensure your right to disconnect. It doesn’t automatically extend to paying what you spend to heat your living room.
There’s a second layer: tax. The Italian Revenue Agency has said repeatedly that lump‑sum reimbursements for mixed‑use costs—electricity, heating, water—usually count as taxable income. A precise, documented split method can help, but it’s hard to prove how much gas or power went to work versus dinner. Many companies opt for a small taxed allowance, or they offer non‑cash benefits instead. **Before you push for a big monthly reimbursement, ask Payroll how they’d treat it on your payslip.**
What if your boss mandates a set home workstation and fixed hours, edging back toward telework? You may have stronger arguments on equipment and running costs, and some collective agreements include daily remote‑work allowances. Even then, there’s no blanket rule that forces heating reimbursement. One pragmatic route is a seasonal arrangement: a modest winter top‑up tied to days actually spent at home, and the option to book a heated desk in the office or a co‑working space when the mercury dives. That mix feels human and legally clean.
A winter of choices
Think of smart working in winter as a three‑way negotiation between comfort, cost, and law. The law sets the frame—your employer owes safety information, fair treatment, and clarity in the agreement—but warmth at home doesn’t switch on by decree. The company can help, and many do, through small allowances, equipment kits, or space in a heated office. You can help yourself with micro‑comfort tactics that make a day affordable and bearable.
Inevitably, colder months surface unglamorous realities. A 20‑minute call decides whether you stare at your own breath or bike to a warm desk. Remote freedom is real, so is the bill that lands in January. Sharing numbers, not feelings, moves this conversation: how many days at home, which room, what it costs, what would make it workable from November to March.
Next time you pull on a second sweater before a Teams invite, picture a small agreement that spreads the weight: a winter top‑up, a heated throw, a booked desk when a cold snap arrives. It’s not heroic. It’s sustainable. And it keeps good work from freezing at the edges.
| Point clé | Détail | Intérêt pour le lecteur |
|---|---|---|
| Legal baseline | No law forces employers to pay home heating in smart working | Sets expectations before you negotiate |
| Negotiation levers | Seasonal top‑ups, equipment kits, co‑working access | Concrete options you can ask for |
| Tax angle | Lump‑sum utility reimbursements are often taxable | Avoid surprises on your payslip |
FAQ :
- Does Italian law require my employer to pay my heating when I work from home?Short answer: no. Law 81/2017 and the safety code focus on training and risk information, not your home utility bills.
- Can a collective agreement force a heating or remote‑work allowance?Yes, if your sector or company agreement includes it. That’s where many daily allowances or winter top‑ups come from.
- Is a lump‑sum “smart working allowance” tax‑free?Usually not. The Revenue Agency treats most flat reimbursements for mixed‑use costs as taxable salary.
- What if my employer dictates a fixed home workstation and hours?That setup leans toward telework, where cost sharing is easier to argue. Heating still isn’t guaranteed by law, but your case gets stronger.
- How can I cut heating costs without freezing?Work in the smallest room, close the door, use a heated throw or low‑watt desk heater, block drafts, and schedule deep work for the warmest hours.
