Opinions & advice welcome and appreciated - variety of work related issues!!

ralalau

First of all im a newbie so be gentle......

Ok here goes...i was requested to change my place of work with the change to start in 2 days. I had no consulation process at all, the work didnt seek volunteers first they simply choose members to move ( 1 of them being me!).

Unfortunately i dont drive so im unable to travel to the ''revised'' place of work, my shifts would finish late at night and to travel home by bus / train would involve 4 journeys culminating in a journey of approx 6hrs!!! Obviously financially and personally this is just not possible.

I have child care issues and previously had a verbal arrangement with my current manager that has been in place for 12months regarding shift patterns and days worked, this has now also been revoked.

I have alraedy raised a grievance regrading the above and had a meeting with a senior manager (only the senior manager and myself were present, no member of HR or anotetaker etc..). The senior manager has confirmed that they are happy with the decision the company has taken although i dont see this as being a very ''impartial'' decision seeing as they were involved in the initail selection process!!

I should today receive a reply to my appeal to the initial grievance which is being investigated by the HR Director...of which im fairly sure they will come back with the same decision as the manager.

In my opinion, due to current overstaffing ive been managed out of the business to save on potential redundancy payments etc and my current childcare issues have in no way been taken into account. Also several members of staff already actually live in the revised location of work and wouldnt have either the travel or childcare issues!!

From an impartial point of view whats your opinion on the above...would you pursue down the ET route and what would you say my chances of winning would be...all advice and comments appreciated

TEDDYRUKSPIN

I believe there is a rule and regulation regarding getting to a place of work by means of public transport. The last time I read it was around 1 hr travelling time. This does not apply to jobs which require travelling i.e. reps.

It is really difficult to know what type of job you are doing.

I need to state a fact. HR are really in place to help the company and are completely useless in helping employees. This is why we have UNITE etc who help the workers. Are you subscribed to a union? Unions are great if they have a representative in your company. If not, they tend to be pointless.

If not, try http://www.acas.org.uk

Free advice but as you know - free advice is'nt always the best.

As for taking them to employment tribunal - just make sure you don't require a reference from them. Each person is different. In effect you are basically closing the door on this company. I hope you understand what I mean.

ralalau

Thanks Teddy - i only joined a union when the situation arose but they do not have a representative wihin the company and cant take my case as it started prior to me joining however they are open to giving me advice. i have already spoken to acas who confirm that i have grounds to go to ET however after phoning a group they reccommended it appears I would have to pay for any solicitors fees upfront due to my partners income which obviously isnt ideal.

I really am not worried about the reference but if I was to get to the stage of a CA then part of that would be to have a decent reference kept on file.

I work as a childrens support worker and have looked after the same group of children for several years up until this forced request.

Please could you point me in the direction of the max 1hrs travelling time you stated above as that could prove usefull.

Once again all - please feel free to jump in

SarEl

I'm afraid Teddy can't point you to it because there isn't one! The actual "rules" about changes like this are very flexible, and only a tribvunal can make a decision, based on individual circumstances, on what is reasonable. There are no hard and fast rules to this and after 30+ years as an employment law barrister the best answer I could give you is "it depends".

Based on what you have said (and being able to prove it) the employer has acted unlawfully and I do think you have a case - but for unfair dismissal or redundancy. I do think that potentially you have a case, but I wouldn't give you a %-age chance of winning because I can't - without seeing documents and seeing all the facts, nobody could.

You need to get some detailed legal advice. It's worth doing.

getmore4less

IMO(lay) a change of location is automatic potential redundancy unless the contract has a reasonable broad location of employment when the company operates multiple sites. Even a mobility clause would have to be reasonable.

What does yours say on location and mobility.

(note reasonble will vary by job, a CEO would be expected to be more mobile than a burger flipper)


Check if you have legal cover through your house insurance.

How long have you been there?

ralalau

I have been employed for 3+years within that time i have alewasy been located at the same place of work. my contract does have a mobility clause in it however this has never been actioned and i am not in a senior position. I slight change to my location woudl be fine, increasing my travelling time to an extra 10hours each day + the other issues is slightly excessive i feel......

I also failed to mention that when gathering all my info for my grievance it also came to light that my contract had the wrong location of work in it and apparently my starting salary is more than what im currently on after 3 years, not by much, its only a couple of pence / hour but within the 3years i have had an increase each year...to be honest its a comedy of errors but one that im finding not particulaly funny.

I have evidence for all the above, can anyone reccomend any specialist ET solicitors in the northwest??

Thanks again all

Oldernotwiser

Sorry if I've missed this but how much further away are you being asked to work?

ralalau

Its around15-20miles away but not being able to drive and having limited public transport to the location it may as well be 100miles away...why do you ask and does this make a difference. It currently takes me 30mins to travel to my previous loaction on 1 bus to the new loaction would be via 2 buses and two trains...far more costly and impossible due to time constraints

Oldernotwiser

ralalau wrote: »

Its around15-20miles away but not being able to drive and having limited public transport to the location it may as well be 100miles away...why do you ask and does this make a difference. It currently takes me 30mins to travel to my previous loaction on 1 bus to the new loaction would be via 2 buses and two trains...far more costly and impossible due to time constraints

I wondered if it would be possible for you to do on a bike or possibly to get a moped.

scooby088

What is reasonable travelling time? I would say an hour each way a day is reasonable. I do think your employers are being unreasonable in asking you to add that extra travelling time to your day.

ralalau

I think 10hours travelling per day is slightly more than just unreasonable dont you? Also no a bike wouldnt be an option as i dont think my body could cope with 40-50miles per day and i have never rode on a moped and have no intention of being forced to start now.