Company requires me to move, how do I stand?

geronimo1

I have been employed at a company for over 15 years. During my career here I have been very loyal and hard working always doing overtime each week.

I have stayed with the company for 15 years because one of the biggest attractions has been is locality to where I live which is only a bike ride away. In the last few years it has also allowed me to provide some care to my dad during my lunch hour.

My company has announced that it is closing its current site and wants me to move to its new one. The problem is, is that the new site is a minimum 45 minute drive on a good day and anything from and hour plus on a bad day due to frequent motorway congestion.

My contract doesn't specifically mention anything about relocation however the company handbook which forms part of the contract states 'You are required to work at such place or places of business as are set out in your offer letter. From time to time you may be required to work at alternative company locations for the undertaking of your duties.

For the purpose of performing your duties you shall, at the expense of the company, undertake such journeys in the United Kingdom and elsewhere as the company may reasonably require.'

The company has offered me a company car which I will pay tax on and they will pay for the first 12 months fuel to commute to this new place of work at a rate of 13p per mile. I am sure that the company may not have to offer me anything but how do I stand legally, can they force me to move? Is it reasonable of a company to ask for this commitment from an employee especially as I will be losing out on personal time due to travelling?

My other concern is that once the 12 months is up I will be not only paying the tax but also paying the fuel for a 400 mile round work trip each week and be a minimum of 2 hours worse off from my own personal time each day, all amounting to approximately £2750 worse off than present.

I would be very much obliged if anyone could help.....

Gordon_Hose

I started driving 500 miles a week a couple of months ago, purely because I don't want to be unemployed.

You have to weigh up your options:

1. Suck it up and take on the commute. Afterall, it's a job.
2. Leave and maybe stuggle to find a job elsewhere.
3. Look into public transport options.
4. Do the commute for 12 months while they are paying for it and look for another job.

Can they offer flexible working hours so that you could start and leave work early to avoid the traffic? My employer lets me start work at 7am and finish at 3:30pm so I can miss the rush hour traffic across the 5 motorways I use to get to the office. Yeah, it means I have to get up at 5am, but I'm home by 5pm everyday.

duchy

I was expecting you to say they wanted you to move a great distance like Glasgow to Devon from the title
I suspect 45 minutes is a pretty average commute time for a lot of people so I think you'd be pushed to claim it is unreasonable -the fact you've had such an easy commute for the last fifteen years doesn't really come into it unfortunately.

In your situation I think I'd try and negociate for flexitime or early start/early finish -whatever you feel would work best for you-take the car-and try it and see how it works out. In the current economy-it's a job -and more secure than a new one with 15 years there under your belt. If the travelling is intolerable after trying it out (and you do get used to it fairly quickly to be honest) then look around for something else.

I do sympathise as I work from home and would be gutted if my company said I had to travel to an office daily instead as I've got used to not spending time/money travelling and being available for family commitments which would be harder but in the current economy a job you quite like with security isn't something to let go without serious consideration. Obviously you know what the possibilities of finding something at the same pay level equally close to home would be -and that's something to definitely factor in.

Monkey_Joe

45min is nothing and Im sure there are many jobless people in the country would be more then happy to travel 45min for work!

Honestly mate, unless you have another job lined up closer to your home I would suck it up and travel to the new site. It would be madness if you quit over something as trivial as this! 45 minutes is nothing!!

thorsoak

45 mins travelling time is minimal to most people - you have been fortunate for the past 15 years in being able to travel such short distances to work.

Whilst I appreciate that it might not be convenient for you at the moment,so close to home? Like others, I think you are just going to have to like it or lump it. You are being compensated by the offer of the use of a company car and I don't see what else your employing company can do. If your position still exists at the new site, they cannot make you redundant.

Niowrtt

Nobody can make you do it, but the alternative really is to find work elsewhere. If your company is closing its local site, what alternative is there? Can you work from home?

A few years ago I was commuting over 500 miles a week for £11,000 pa. I had to buy my own car and pay my own fuel to do so. I also didn't have the luxury of motorways or even dual carriageways.

getmore4less

AIUI.

Any relocation is an automatic potential redundancy.

You probably have a reasonable case for redundancy based on your circumstances and contract as long as the offer letter does not have any broad location options.

Would redundancy be an option you would consder?

If not, try to negotiate a better deal.

hcb42

job seekers agreements need to be able to travel 60 minutes, so giving up a job 45 minutes away seems a bit of a risk depending of course on how much work there is close to home.

fred7777

geronimo1 wrote: »

how do I stand legally, can they force me to move? Is it reasonable of a company to ask for this commitment from an employee especially as I will be losing out on personal time due to travelling?

They can't force you to move, but you can't force them to keep the present site open just for you.

You can either move and keep the job or not move and loose the job. I'm not 100% sure but I think if you refused to move sites you would be dismissing yourself so would not get redundancy. People aren't made redundant posts are and the post is still there.

As far as reasonable goes, what is reasonable is whatever you and the management negotiate.

getmore4less

fred7777 wrote: »

They can't force you to move, but you can't force them to keep the present site open just for you.

You can either move and keep the job or not move and loose the job. I'm not 100% sure but I think if you refused to move sites you would be dismissing yourself so would not get redundancy. People aren't made redundant posts are and the post is still there.

As far as reasonable goes, what is reasonable is whatever you and the management negotiate.

Posts also includes location, so the post is no longer exists therefore an automatic potential redundancy.

Many contracts allow for some mobility but this still has to be reasonable due to implied terms and conditions.

It would appear that the handbook and engagement terms could give the OP an automatic option for redundancy depending on the detail since there is no permanent mobility clause mentioned yet.

'You are required to work at such place or places of business as are set out in your offer letter. From time to time you may be required to work at alternative company locations for the undertaking of your duties.

For the purpose of performing your duties you shall, at the expense of the company, undertake such journeys in the United Kingdom and elsewhere as the company may reasonably require.'

If the op offer letter was specific enough on location then that supports the redundancy option.

The offer of transitional financial support and a car helps make the new location a potential suitable alternative for many people but the OP has other criteria to consider that many would not(time and being a carer)

patman99

JSA 60 minute travel requirements are 'by public transport and include the time taken to walk to the bus stop/train station, then onwards to your place of work'.
It takes me 45 minutes to drive the 23 miles of country roads to my new place of work, or 55 minutes to walk to the train station, catch the train and walk from the station to work. In the winter it will probably take me twice that (and if it snows, then the roads become impassable as does the rail line).