Google’s employees based in the same office before the pandemic could see different changes in pay, if they switch to working from home permanently, with long commuters hit harder, according to the company’s pay calculator. 

It is an experiment taking place across Silicon Valley, which often sets trends for other large employers.

Facebook and Twitter also cut pay for remote employees who move to less expensive areas, while smaller companies, including Reddit and Zillow, have shifted to location-agnostic pay models, citing advantages when it comes to hiring, retention and diversity.

Alphabet’s Google stands out in offering employees a calculator that allows them to see the effects of a move. But in practice, some remote employees, especially those who commute from long distances, could experience pay cuts without changing their address. 

“Our compensation packages have always been determined by location, and we always pay at the top of the local market, based on where an employee works from,” a Google spokesperson said, adding that pay would differ from city to city and State to State.

Jake Rosenfeld, a sociology professor at Washington University in St Louis, who researches pay determination, said Google’s pay structure raised alarms about who would feel the impacts most acutely, including families. 

“What’s clear is that Google doesn’t have to do this,” Mr Rosenfeld said. “Google has paid these workers at 100 per cent of their prior wage by definition. So it’s not like they can’t afford to pay their workers who choose to work remotely the same that they are used to receiving.” 

Screenshots of Google’s internal salary calculator show that an employee living in Stamford, Connecticut – an hour from New York City by train – would be paid 15 per cent less, if she worked from home, while a colleague from the same office living in New York City would see no cut from working from home. Screenshots showed 5 and 10 per cent differences in the Seattle, Boston and San Francisco areas.