Is this legal? Expected to travel on Sunday for no pay?

lucylucky

Matt16v wrote: »

Yes but you see my point thought, and they are not OBLIGED to pay you. If you're getting pair for travel time outside of your contracted hours as well as travel expenses (dont confuse the two) then good times, but not many people do i would say.

I am not confusing the two at all and I will admit that a "reasonable" amount of travelling may be expected but 280 miles?

They are taking the p!ss.

Some companies would and do treat travel time as payable.

The last lot I worked for would probably give you 5 or 6 hours for that.

dmg24

lucylucky wrote: »

People get paid to travel to places outwith their normal place of work (in some instances)

Normal commuting does not get paid, this is above and beyond that.

lucylucky wrote: »

It does count towards his weekly hours with respect to the WTR.

You are making lots of assumptions without knowing many facts. The travelling time may count towards his average hours, and people sometimes get paid to travel to alternative work locations.

SarEl

dmg24 wrote: »

You are making lots of assumptions without knowing many facts. The travelling time may count towards his average hours, and people sometimes get paid to travel to alternative work locations.

To be fair - the travelling time does count towards his average hours, but it is true to say that people only sometimes get paid for this. The circumstances of what he does for a living and why he has to travel was in the other thread - I checked before I said it would count in my post.

lucylucky

dmg24 wrote: »

You are making lots of assumptions without knowing many facts. The travelling time may count towards his average hours, and people sometimes get paid to travel to alternative work locations.

No assumptions - travel time, over and above any normal commute does count as far as the WTR are concerned and I did qualify my comment about travel time being paid.

Wonder what thoughts the OP has thus far?

SarahLou

DVardysShadow wrote: »

Having been told he will not be reimbursed, I don't think he has the least responsibility to get to site. The only thing I would do is - if the boss has not said this in email or writing - to get the bosses edict recorded in an email and request the boss to reconsider expenses, failing which OP's OH will report to the office on Monday morning. Keep copies.

This is squeezing the employees too far and it looks to me that the sooner a stand is taken the less grief there will be.

Thanks to everyone who has replied to this - much appreciated. The poster above has hit the nail on the head - my hubby won't be getting reimbursed the travel expenses at all. So basically he's got two options:
a. travel down with his colleagues on the Sunday (and not get any money for it or time off in lieu for this Sunday)
or
b. travel down on the Monday morning in his own car which will cost in the region of £70 ish in petrol (which won't get reimbursed at all - at any point).

Doesn't seem right to me .... especially as its a matter of record that he can't travel down on the Sunday because I will be at work and we do have a young child (his bosses are aware of such issues).

I said to him earlier that essentially giving up the vast majority of his Sunday is essentially just "working" it on a voluntary basis - something neither him nor his colleagues should be doing in my opinion.

lucylucky

If his car was unavailable, MOT service or whatever, how would his company get him to the site on Monday?

Is the car insured for business use, which this is?

SarahLou

Nope - he's just got the normal social/domestic/pleasure/commuting insurance - but thats one hell of a "commute" to work, isn't it!

As for what they'd do if his car was unavailable, I really don't know. At this stage in the game, reading the email he received today from his boss who is running this particular job, it sounds like they're just going to push him to go on the Sunday (as sadly hubby can't really afford the £70 ish petrol to get him there/back if he travels in his own car). What we'll have to do with the little one is beyond me as unless I pull a sickie, I can't take holiday on weekends so I can't get the day off or even a half day.

lucylucky

SarahLou wrote: »

Nope - he's just got the normal social/domestic/pleasure/commuting insurance - but thats one hell of a "commute" to work, isn't it!

As for what they'd do if his car was unavailable, I really don't know. At this stage in the game, reading the email he received today from his boss who is running this particular job, it sounds like they're just going to push him to go on the Sunday (as sadly hubby can't really afford the £70 ish petrol to get him there/back if he travels in his own car). What we'll have to do with the little one is beyond me as unless I pull a sickie, I can't take holiday on weekends so I can't get the day off or even a half day.

If he were to have an accident on the way to work it is entirely possible that the insurance company would not pay out.

This is not commuting, so I would advise against using his own car for the journey. No matter what his employers may say.

lucylucky

Oldernotwiser wrote: »

Travelling to the place where you'll be working doesn't need business use insurance.

If it is not his normal place of work it may well do.
(it may not but worth checking)

SarahLou

A good point - something he hadn't considered before. Like you say, it is commuting to/from a place of work but certainly not his normal place of work. I'm sure I read somewhere in my own insurance policy that its worded something like "commuting to one fixed/normal address at which you work" (or words to that effect).

Problem is though, the only way around it (it seems) is to travel on the Sunday with the works vehicle but not get a penny for giving up his Sunday and not get any time off in lieu either.

Personally, I've told the hubby he should kick up a real fuss about this as its ludicrous. My place of work wouldn't dream of trying anything like this with anyone. But the hubby (probably rightly) says that it won't get him anywhere as if they gave in to him then they'd either have to give the other colleagues time off in lieu or money for all the 5 weeks they've been doing this for. (To which I said its their silly fault for agreeing to it in the first place!) Hubby also suspects that if he does kick up a fuss he'll be forced to take the week off as unpaid as they'll conveniently claim they have no other work for him between Mon-Fri next week (which will be a blatant lie, but one he is confident they'd say!)