After thinking about it... The deposit smells of a scam. On the other hand, she would have a laptop in her possession which she would only return if the deposit is returned. On the third hand, they could be sitting on a bunch of stolen laptops... Sorry, I don't know. I'd be very careful.

A balance sheet of £600 is the giveaway that this is a scam. Run.

An employer should never have to ask for money up front. They should just deduct it from the first paycheck. This sounds very fishy to me.

Also why would a company not first get a new employee to work at the company office for a few weeks to at least get to know one another and training

Even if it is ligit (and I don't think so). A lot of people quit shortly is a reason not to take the job.

@gnasher729 What makes you think they will give her the laptop once they have the deposit? If they sent the laptop first there would be no point to the deposit. My guess is that if she pays the deposit there will be an initial month materials fee...

£99 also sounds like a suspicious amount that is psychologically keyed to sound not too expensive.

Has she met these people face to face? Do they have an office that she has visited?

A lot of people are suspicious with good reason, but you know what's making me suspicious? Why would a business trust a new hire (that isn't bonded and/or has no reputation) to do ACCOUNTING from home? There's a lot of confidential information that accountants deal with and security of that information is typically a concern. Most businesses wouldn't trust someone without a lot of experience (or liability insurance) to take that information home.

Thank you everyone for your feedback, you all brought up some very good points,we'll stay far away from this. Even if they took her without a deposit, if there is this kind of mistrust from before she even starts things cannot go well.

I would add that in many contracts and jobs, I've been given laptops to work with and in no case was I ever asked for a deposit. Even where I'm currently contracted, (a Fortune 10 company) I have one of their laptops that I take home every day without ever having been asked for security or having same taken from a check).

@ChristopherEstep Seconded. Never in my 20+ year career have I been asked for a deposit for company supplied equipment.

@RobinGertenbach Did they even ask her if she could use her own computer before asking for the deposit? While I've never had to make a deposit, I've had 2 positions where I was asked if I had a computer I'd like to use before (apparently reluctantly) giving me one of theirs. If they had, I'd say they might just be dirt poor rather than scamming.

Possibly related: workplace.stackexchange.com/questions/66792

The laptop my company issues all employees costs over £1000 - what kind of laptop are they issuing where £99 is any kind of deterrent against the employee stealing it, especially when the employee is apparently not concerned with breaking the law to steal it in the first place? Even if it was a cheap £300 laptop, why wouldn't that dishonest employee just take it if it only "costs" them £99?

A note to all people who refer to experience with bigger companies: Bigger companies have procedures and legal works in place to deter people from keeping equipment after leaving. So making that kind of comparison is not fair. -- Also, just because the company suggested making a deposit now does not mean they are not willing to wait untill the laptop is actually available.

Totally unknown in the UK. Also if this is compulsory I'm not sure it's legal. Either a scam or a really weird employer you wouldn't want to work for. Run far, run fast.

Yes, this fits the pattern of a scam. moneycrashers.com/work-from-home-scams-list-fake-jobs

Literally the same issue for me but mine is a little different... I am a freelance software developer and i freelance on upwork and other freelancing platforms. Literally one of the first proposal i put out for a job and they reply to me for recruiting me for employment. NOTE: this is literally the first reply from any of my proposals and i am high school graduate. And they ask me to join them on telegram for an interview so i join them, then they tell me to hand in my CV and i should come back in the morning for the interview and i do exactly that. On the interview they ask me what job am i i