Equipment

We provide all the equipment you need to do your job effectively. This may include:

• A new computer.
• A new mobile phone.
• A good pair of headphones.
• An external monitor (if required), keyboard, mouse etc.
• An ergonomic office chair and desk.
• Any other equipment needed to work effectively.

Use the following list of reference equipment as a guide, if you need better/more expensive equipment to do your job effectively then please let us know when requesting in the Expenses Backlog and discuss with your manager.

Laptops

Role recommendations:

• Engineering roles: MacBook Pro 14″ – M3 Pro, 18GB Memory, 512GB SSD Storage (£2099) or equivalent but need 16GB+ of memory.
• All other roles: Macbook Air 13″ – M3 Chip, 8GB Memory, 256GB SSD Storage (£1099) or equivalent

Notes:

• Laptops are recommended in case you need to travel for work
• Can be plugged into an external monitor if you work from fixed location.
• You can request an alternative machine of similar cost to the recommendations below e.g. windows or Linux.
• This exact model is recommended because at the time of writing it is a stock model and usually available immediately. Customising the spec can often lead to 2-4 week delivery dates so in stock models are often preferable unless you have another machine to use whilst waiting for delivery.
• Requests for upgraded machines will be evaluated by your manager and the finance team on a case by case basis.

Other Equipment

• Mobile phone (£799) – iPhone 15 128GB or equivalent 
• Headphones (£249) – Apple Airpods Pro or equivalent
• External Monitor (£399) – LG 4k 27″ USB-C Monitor or equivalent
• Office Desk (£150)
• Office Chair (£200) – SIHOO Ergonomic Chair or equivalent

If a more ergonomic desk or chair is needed (for example a standing desk) this can be requested through you manager.

When you join the company we will purchase you a laptop and headphones. For other items such as office equipment (desk/chair/monitor) & mobile phones we will purchase once your probation period is complete. This is because it’s difficult for us to recover these items if the probationary period is unsuccessful.

N.B. If you would prefer a higher spec phone such as an iPhone 15 Pro, HM will cover the cost if you are willing to renew on a three year cycle instead of every two years, this means you’ll keep the new one for three years. The maximum model you can go up to this way is the iPhone 15 Pro 256GB (£1099), or another make/model that is equal to or less than the cost of an iPhone 15 Pro 256GB in your country. (If you want a more expensive model than this, you should purchase yourself and expense up to the limit, and still submit in the expenses backlog first.)

If you are purchasing from a non-UK retailer, the amount HM will reimburse/cover is the cost of the models (listed above) in that country (whether it’s more or less), not the currency equivalent of the GBP amount.

If you’re unsure what to buy, you might find it helpful to ask others in Slack (in #interests-gadgets for example), before running it past us.

Upgrades

We’ll upgrade your phone every two years (or three if you’re on the three year cycle). We’ll upgrade all other equipment when it’s needed, please do open an expense issue at this time (the guidance here is we expect to upgrade every 2-4 years).

Assets over £500 must be purchased by Human Made and not expensed. Once you know the specs of what you’d like, create an issue in the expenses repo, including the spec of the device and add to the expenses backlog.

It’s fine to purchase second-hand items as long as the seller can provide you with a proof of purchase (doesn’t need to be a VAT/GST invoice).

We maintain a 🔒 list of all company assets.

Insurance

Equipment is covered by company worldwide insurance whether it was purchased by the company or purchased by yourself and expensed. This insurance also covers devices when they’re taken abroad on trips.

What to do if your equipment breaks

If your equipment breaks we want to ensure we get you back up and running as quickly as possible. Please follow the guidelines listed here and reach out in #company-admin if needed:

• If you don’t have a spare machine you can work from you should notify your PM/Manager as soon as possible, then log any necessary time off in Bob under ‘Other’ (with an added note)
• For billable roles your PM will update Forecast
• For Mac users, see the Apple Help Desk handbook page.
• You should open an expense issue for the repair, or replacement if it’s needed (it can be marked as urgent and someone should pick it up that day). It’s ok to start the repair/replacement process if it’s urgent and you haven’t received a response. It’s also ok to purchase a new machine if you’re able – this can be returned at a later date if the original machine is repaired
• Find out your support options. For example you can call Apple or use the online chat feature for quick assistance
• You could also drop a note into #interests-apple as others may be able to offer advice on possible solutions
• We have a few spare laptops in different locations so it may be possible to get one to you (we’ll let you know in the expense issue if this is the case)
• For a costly repair or replacement we will claim on the company insurance so it’s important you obtain a statement of work from the repair provider (we will ask for these details in the expense issue)

Backing up your equipment

You should ensure your data is backed up regularly, please see the guidelines below:

• Save your data online and commit code regularly
• We have a company Backblaze account which you can use to automatically and/or manually backup your computer to the cloud.
• It is OK to expense an external hard drive to create local backups of your machine. Instructions on how to do this can be found for both Mac and Windows operating systems. This is a great alternative solution to using Backblaze if internet connection speed is an issue.

Leaving the company

Computers and phones that were purchased by Human Made remain assets of the company. When you leave the company, one of the following things will happen:

• You will be able to keep your equipment
• If you have only been at the company a short period of time, we will ask you to return your equipment. We will arrange to have it shipped to another team member who is in your locale.
• If you leave the company a short time after your equipment is purchased we may ask you to return it or, if you prefer, to purchase it from us. This will not happen in all cases. If you do purchase it, the total charge will reflect the depreciated value of the equipment (e.g. if it was bought three months ago, you could be asked to return it or purchase it at approximately 7/8ths of the initial price).

This will be decided on a case by case basis, and the decision will reflect criteria such as tenure, age of the equipment, and reason for leaving the company (e.g. someone who leaves because of gross misconduct is unlikely to be allowed to keep their equipment).