Can my employer force me to work from home instead of making me redundant?

susan792091

Hi. My office is closing at the end of September and I am to be relocated, in theory to an office that is too far away for me (taking into account childcare commitments). I think if I argue this, my employer is going to tell me I should be a homeworker instead, but I want redundancy. Does anyone know if I can I be forced to work from home? Thanks

dmg24

Do you have a good reason for not being able to work from home? Most people would jump at the chance.

1984ReturnsForReal_2

dmg24 wrote: »

Do you have a good reason for not being able to work from home? Most people would jump at the chance.

http://forums.moneysavingexpert.com/showthread.html?t=1825127&highlight=

Emmzi

you have been given alternatives, if you choose to take niether I can't see why you will be entitled to anything. your employer is being more than reasonable.

susan792091

well it may sound idyllic to some but given my job circumstances it isn't.
I really wondered if anyone knew from a legal point of view. I am not sure it is totally reasonable for your employer to insist that you work from home - I would have to have a separate space with proper office desk and chair for the purpose, and I think it puts me in breach of my tenancy agreement. Plus my son is looked after at my home by relatives and a nanny, and I think he would find it quite disruptive - my current computer space is visible from the dining room and living room, so he would see me but not be allowed to be with me, which he would find quite upsetting. As I say - I know a lot of people would love it and a few years ago I would have done too. Now though, it isn't the right thing for me in this job, so I would like to know if I really can be forced to be a home worker. Hope that clarifies.

DaisyFlower

How will the move affect childcare commitments - you have a nanny which is probably the most flexible of childcare out there.

Your employer sounds as though they are being fair - which , given you plan to take 10 weeks of sick, you dont really deserve.

Am beginning to think this is a wind up now.

susan792091

daisyflower, you have clearly read the other thread - I hope the second post I have put on there in the last few minutes helps explain a bit better my situation. it sounds like I am taking the mick but seriously, my employer has been terrible to me and to one of my collegues who had a baby at about the same time as me. this is the final throes of a long drawn out saga.
regarding childcare - having my son cared for at home while I am also and home and meant to be working is actually pretty rubbish for him. I've tried and it doesn't work - he just gets really clingy and spends all day trying to get to me because he knows I am there and crying a lot on the person looking after him. if i go out, it is a case of out of sight out of mind - he soon forgets and plays happily.

zzzLazyDaisy

Hi Susan, if your office is closing, that MAY be a redundancy situation, but not necessarily. If your job exists but needs to be done from a different location, you need firstly to look at your contract of employment, where it says 'place of work' or 'location' - often it will say something like 'your normal place of work is Ivory Towers, but the company reserves the right to require you to work from such other locations as may be necessary to meet the needs of the business'. In other words, your contract may give the employer the right to change the location of your workplace, in which case unless that it totally unreasonable, this is unlikely to be viewed as a redundancy situation.

Even if there is no such clause in your contract, the employer has a duty to look for and offer you alternative employment. If you unreasonably refuse an offer of 'suitable alternative employment' you may forfeit your right to a redundancy payment.

So you see, you don't have a right to demand redundancy, if the employer proposals are reasonable. Whether they are or not in your case depends on the circumstances.

Also I am assuming that you know that you need at least 2 years' continuous service, for a redundancy payment?

Re your other thread, I have PM'd you, but the short answer is, if your doctor advises you that your working environment is adversely affecting your health, and advises you that you are not fit for work, then as long as you submit sick-notes on time for the whole of the period that you are off sick, then you are unlikely to be dismissed while you are covered by a company sick pay scheme. If you have gaps in your sick notes, or don't co-operate with your employer, eg by refusing to attend a meeting with an occupational health adviser for example, they could discipline you for misconduct, but otherwise it would take some time for them to go through the necessary procedures for dismissal.

Emmzi

to give you my HR opinion, tell me
a) how far away ios the new office in miles/ time
b) would they let you do flexitime to suit childcare hours

getmore4less

I don't think they can't force you to work from home so if you don't think it is suitable and the other office is to far or to inconvenient and no mobility clause, you probably should be redundant .

Plenty of reasons to not work from home

No suitable space to allocate to an office.

Another more subjective is you don't think it will work you need the work environment to function and will feel to isolated.

The job will involve to much travel to the other office for meetings,
etc.

I think some mobility clauses would be considered unreasonable if they tried to relocate everyone to somewhere total different that would require moving eg London to Glasgow with no package.

MORPH3US

Within reason they can ask you to work from another office and just pay you relocation / travel costs by negotiation.

IMHO you are just looking for any excuse to get a nice pay off from your job which is unreasonable and you're lucky to have a job.

Why not just quit if you hate your job so much?