travel to head office

Hopefully a simple question!

I work for a mid sized company at a satellite office, its one of only two satellite offices and I'm the only employee based at my location.

Luckily for me I only live about 30 mins commute from the office so a nice easy commute. On some occasions I have to go to client sites, these are relatively close and its unusual to have to leave earlier than I normally would. To be honest if I have to leave 30 mins earlier or get home 30 mins later then I do it, not a problem for me at all.

Now on occasion I have to travel a lot further. Its rare, I'd say around once a month but recently has been increasing, but its either to head office, which is 3 - 4 hours away depending on traffic or the other satellite office which is a similar distance.

When I go to both of those locations I am expected to be onsite for my usual start time and finish at my usual time which obviously greatly extends my day. Nobody else in the company has to do this.

Shouldn't that be classed as part of my work day and therefore I should get overtime or time off in lieu? I get paid mileage for the driving which seems to indicate its not being classed as travel to a permanent place of work.

I'm not one who likes to rock the boat but equally I feel like I'm being taken advantage of.
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  • Doshwaster
    Doshwaster Posts: 6,127
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    Getting paid overtime for travel to clients or other offices would be highly unusual. I've never known it happen especially if you are salaried.

    However, a reasonable employer should be able make some allowances for for your 6-8 hours driving as spending that long behind the wheel on a work day cannot be good for your job performance. Is there any way you could travel up the evening before and stop in a hotel so that you will be fresher for your start time or go by train?

    Similarly, I don't think there's any automatic right to time off but if you've just done a 16 hour day including travel I would have no problem if someone who worked for me came in a couple of hours late the next day.
  • Thanks for that. Sounds like I'm stuck with it then.

    Seems a bit open for exploitation by the employer. What's to stop them sending you from London to Glasgow? Given that a lot of employments also opt you out of the working time directive it sounds like an employer can insist on pretty much unlimited travel hours that are unpaid over and above your normal workday so long as its travel at the start and / or end of the day.
  • ACG
    ACG Posts: 23,661
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    Raise it as a concern. It could be the people asking it of you have not even considered the 8 hours its adding to your day.

    If you ask and nothing happens you are no worse off.
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  • elsien
    elsien Posts: 32,424
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    If an employer opted me out of the working time directive, I'd be opting myself straight back in again.
    All shall be well, and all shall be well, and all manner of things shall be well.

    Pedant alert - it's could have, not could of.
  • Doshwaster
    Doshwaster Posts: 6,127
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    Thanks for that. Sounds like I'm stuck with it then.

    Seems a bit open for exploitation by the employer. What's to stop them sending you from London to Glasgow? Given that a lot of employments also opt you out of the working time directive it sounds like an employer can insist on pretty much unlimited travel hours that are unpaid over and above your normal workday so long as its travel at the start and / or end of the day.

    I've done a lot of business travel in my time both in the UK and internationally and a lot of that has to be done out of office hours. There is nothing to stop them sending you to Glasgow or further afield (I once did a 22 hour day trip to Stockholm) but your employer needs to understand that you are giving up some of your personal time and that long days aren't good for you. They have a duty of care towards you when you are travelling for work under health and safety laws. If you fell asleep behind the wheel then they could be liable.

    Personally, there's no way I would want to spent 8 hours driving on top of a full working day. If I have to go to a meeting more than a couple of hours drive away then I will use the train, fly or stop overnight.
  • cr1mson
    cr1mson Posts: 878
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    We used to be allowed to take TOIL for any travelling in addition to what we would normally travel. So as your commute is normally 30 minutes and travelling to Head Office takes 4 hours could claim 3hr 30 mins. In practice no one claimed unless was more than 30 minutes difference.
  • sangie595
    sangie595 Posts: 6,092 Forumite
    Doshwaster wrote: »
    If I have to go to a meeting more than a couple of hours drive away then I will use the train, fly or stop overnight.

    ^^^This^^^

    There is law on travel time if it is regular (as in daily) and people are low paid, but not otherwise.

    TBH I would be making the case for overnight accommodation. 3-4 hours travel each way is two working days in a day, and is dangerous. Nobody is wide awake on the journey back when working those sorts of hours. Where I work (and with pretty much every organisation I work with) this would be at least one overnight stay, and rail rather than driving - although some people do drive one way and stay overnight either before or after).
  • Speak to your employers there probably is an easy fix to this...there was for my office.

    After a few of us complained our director implemented a new rule for all out of office travelling.

    For us any travel to anywhere other than our normal place of work I.e. office stipulated in our contract is part of the working day.

    Tomorrow I have to visit our 2nd office and be there for 9am. It is about 1.5hrs each way from my home. My working day now starts from when I leave my home and return to my home (obviously can't take the pee). Also we are contracted for 7.5hrs per day so any time over the 7.5hrs is given back as flexi/time in lieu.

    Good luck
  • ThemeOne
    ThemeOne Posts: 1,471
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    I would definitely ask for overnight accommodation on your organisation's standard travel and subsistence.
  • Mr.Generous
    Mr.Generous Posts: 3,299
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    It is an unreasonable request to get you to do a 3 hr+ drive, work a day then 3+ hrs back. Id leave home half an hour earlier than usual and see what time you get there. Traffic was terrible, I'm going to have to set off home at 3.30 as it took me 4 hrs to get here. Nobody would object, its far far too long for a commute.
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