Changes to Terms & Conditions

icclebug

Hey all,

I have been working for an organisation for nearly a year now and it has always been in my contract to work from home. Therefore any travelling I do I claim for at 40p per mile, I have just been given a new line manager who now says that I should stand the first 20 miles myself and claim for the rest.

Please correct me if I am wrong, but if I am being told to work from home then that is my base/place of work. So I should be quite within my rights to claim for any travel relating to work. I understand that if I have an office away from home then I should pay to get there.

Would this be considered a change to my terms & conditions and should i be re-negotiating?

Any help would be really appreciated :hello:

Icclebug

ceridwen

Sure someone will be along soon who can help.

I just wonder whether if they manage to make you pay for the first "20 miles" of the journey whether they would then up the ante - and it would become 30 miles, then 40 miles and so on ad infinitum. Ever heard the phrase "thin end of the wedge"?

pinkshoes

How far is it from your home to your work place? If it's 10 miles (so a 20 mile round trip), then I'd say it's fair that you'd be expected to do the first 20 miles in a day free of charge.

Rather than seeing it as a loss, perhaps your current situation is an unfair advantage over others who have to travel to an office every day? i.e. by NOT having to travel, you're saving money.

mymatebob

It depends very much where your contracted "base" is.

Is this stated anywhere?
(I realise you are working from home but are your "officially" based in an office elsewhere?)

prudence41

Icclebug, you understand the situation perfectly well.

If your written contract states that home is your main place of employment, then that's what it is. If the company want to change your place of employment, its a contractual change but it sounds like your line manager wants to save the company by getting you to pay your own work related expenses. If it is a new company policy and working from a home base is a real convenience to you, then this compromise might be a small price to pay. However if it is a line manager declaring UDI, then "Give an inch, take a mile" springs to mind.

DevilGoesDown2Bristol

Agreed - if you are contracted to work from home, that is your place of work. However, IF that is the case and you are in full-time employment, you should be paying the business rate of council tax, have had a Health and Safety check of your premises, all your work-related electrical equipment PAT tested... If all that's the case - i.e. it has all been done as per regs - they've not got a leg to stand on when it comes to paying their mileage rates for travel to the office. You're also entitled to a degree of tax relief for depreciation of assets connected solely with conducting your role, such as office chairs and whatnot, provided any such furnishing and fixings were paid for by yourself and meet all applicable safety standards.

Just thought I'd throw that in for good measure; you probably know all this already, but if not then there's money to be saved

Conor_3

Just a little point of note...

I hope the OP has their car insured for business use. Social, Domestic, Pleasure & Commuting does not cover it.