Distance to work / time to travel

[labelmaker1]

Hi all,

I'm looking for a bit of help.

My employer has asked me to work one day a week from a different site that I usually work at. The site is 200 miles from my home and takes approx 5 hours to reach (based on traffic for the time I need to get there) and 5 hours back home obviously. Once on site I need to work about 5 hours.

This is scheduled to occur for 16 weeks. My contract states that I am required to travel to other sites from time to time. I am compensated for travelling there in my own vehicle (fuel costs, about 30p per mile).

I say this is too much on one day. My employer has suggested I could travel to site the evening before to save too much driving, I say this affects my non-work commitments every week.

I personally believe:

- 10 hours travelling for 5 hours work is excessive
- it could be a contravention of my contractual terms (it isn't time to time, it's 4 months)
- My personal time would be affected and I have obligations to meet outside work that this would affect

Does anyone have any thoughts on this from a legal point of view?

Thanks

[MissFM]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

Hello Lablemaker and

I'm sorry not to be able to give you legal advice but there are those here who can.

As a matter of interest, what is your usual travelling time/distance to and from work?

Has your employer offered to reimburse you for your time at your usual hourly rate for the 10 hours travel?

[labelmaker1]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

Hello Lablemaker and

I'm sorry not to be able to give you legal advice but there are those here who can.

As a matter of interest, what is your usual travelling time/distance to and from work?

Has your employer offered to reimburse you for your time at your usual hourly rate for the 10 hours travel?

Thanks for the welcome.

normal travel time is 20 minutes.

I will receive no extra reimbursement for the travelling time.

thanks

[MissFM]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

Goodness - that does sound unfair! I hope someone will be along to say whether or not it is also considerred a legal no-no

[charitynjw]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

Hi labelmaker1, & welcome to Legal Beagles.

I don't think there are any hard & fast rules on this.

It would be down to whether, in all the circumstances, it is reasonable for the employer to ask for this.

& it would be the job of an Employment Tribunal Judge to make this decision.

In the meantime, have you considered asking ACAS; they do a mediation service.

http://www.acas.org.uk/index.aspx?articleid=2825

[MissFM]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

Do you belong to a Union?

[MissFM]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

Another thought - if your employer is suggesting you go up the night before and stay overnight he is presumably prepared to pay for your accomodation (otherwise you're more or less paying to work for him)?

[enquirer]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

Does your car insurance cover this sort of travelling?

[orfoster]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

I think we need to know what your contracted place of work is, what does it say on your contract of employment which might be called statement of particulars? How long have you worked for the company?

it would be down to a tribunal to judge what is reasonable in the circumstances, what are the employers reasons for asking you to travel so far?

This does seem excessive though....

[teaboy2]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

How many hours off work would you have between getting home the night before and setting off the next morning to the different site, as am pretty sure having to travel 5 hours to a different site on your employers request would be classed as working time in terms of "working times regulations" which gives you the right to 11 hours rest from work! same if the 5 hour drive back results in you having less that 11 hours rest between getting home and setting off to work the next day.

Off course certain sectors are excluded from this, so i would need to know what your line of work is or what sector you work in?

[labelmaker1]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

Hi all,

Thanks for the replies. To answer the questions that have been asked:

1. Haven't yet considered using ACAS but I'm quite happy to do so...

2. I'm not in a union

3. Accommodation: My boss is happy to pay for the hotel for me to stay over. That isn't my issue: it's more I can't afford a night away each week for 4 months. If I was a single parent this wouldn't be feasible so why is it any different here?

4. Car insurance covers this form of traveling.

5. My contract says that I work 37 hours per week based on my home site. It further states that my hours aren't fixed and may be changed by the organisation and this can include a change to the shift I am normally set to do. It goes on to say that acknowledge that I may be required to work any additional hours to suit the needs of the organisation from time to time and should not expect to be further paid for this.

6. Reason for travelling to this other site for 4 months is for training.

7. The sector of work is within the print / magazine industry.

8. I have worked for the company for 10 years.

9. From getting home after travelling I JUST manage to get 11 hours before having to set off to work at the home site again.

Thanks for all the input - any further advice appreciated.

[charitynjw]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

Is the training a necessary requirement for you to continue in your role?

[labelmaker1]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

Is the training a necessary requirement for you to continue in your role?

Sorry, it's providing training, not receiving it.

My role is not that of training, my role is operational. I was selected to make up the numbers as I have a slight knowledge of the training subject.

In summary, I can continue my role just fine without this 4 months of training!

[charitynjw]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

And the trainees can't come to you because......................?

[labelmaker1]

Re: Distance to work / time to travel

Their role is fixed to one site and they need certain (fixed) tools to do their job.