Moving office- compensation?

musashi10

Hi,

My current contract states my place of work is x
today we have been told that the office is moving to a different town.

This will take me 1 hr a day more in travelling and cost £100 more a month in travelling costs.

Nothing has been mentioned of compensation of any form, I was just wondering what the legal position is or best practise?

any advice would be great.

Thanks

Horace

Although your contract states that you work in x, there is nothing to stop the company from relocating. So, you have an extra hour travel time to get to work..no big deal. However, if you are concerned with the cost you could politely ask if there is going to be any assistance available to help you get to work eg. subsidised bus pass.

I think that rather than kick up a fuss that you accept the additional hour to get to work or you start looking for alternative employment. Jobs are few and far between so it is best to hang on to the one you have got.

Jarndyce

1hr a day so 30 minutes each way? You have little choice but to go (or resign) I'm afraid. The extra distance/travelling time wouldn't be considered far enough away for it to be such a fundamental change to your contract.

If its an hour away each way and there is no mobility clause in your contract (and one could be implied into a contract if you are sufficiently senior or mobile in practice) then you might have an argument for constructive dismissal, but that is a risky route to take and you have no job at the end of it.

You could seek to negotiate some temporary assistance with travel costs and/or a shorter working day to accommodate the travel, etc etc.

967stuart

How far away from current work is it, Im fairly sure that if they move further that a certain milage then they have to compensate you.
Other than that, I don't think there is much you can do about.
(This has happened to myself and my wife) , very annoying as it costs us over £100 more a month on fuel and not to mention the added wear and tear on the car.

Jarndyce

Horace wrote: »

Although your contract states that you work in x, there is nothing to stop the company from relocating. So, you have an extra hour travel time to get to work..no big deal. However, if you are concerned with the cost you could politely ask if there is going to be any assistance available to help you get to work eg. subsidised bus pass.

I think that rather than kick up a fuss that you accept the additional hour to get to work or you start looking for alternative employment. Jobs are few and far between so it is best to hang on to the one you have got.

With respect that is a very subjective view and might not coincide with the OP's situation. They may have domestic responsibilities, for example, which prevent them travelling the extra time.

And you are wrong in your first paragraph. There have been cases where breach of contract, and therefore constructive disnmissal, has been upheld where an office has moved a further hour away from where the employee lived.

musashi10

Horace wrote: »

I think that rather than kick up a fuss that you accept the additional hour to get to work or you start looking for alternative employment. Jobs are few and far between so it is best to hang on to the one you have got.

I don't intend to keep up any fuss, I was just wondering if there was anything in contract employment law that gave compensation.

I have already stated looking for another job and had an interview last week.

I do not agree that jobs are scarce, doesn't seem to be in my field anyway (finance in London), I get calls every other week from agents for jobs.

musashi10

967stuart wrote: »

How far away from current work is it, Im fairly sure that if they move further that a certain milage then they have to compensate you.
Other than that, I don't think there is much you can do about.
(This has happened to myself and my wife) , very annoying as it costs us over £100 more a month on fuel and not to mention the added wear and tear on the car.

In mileage its not far. I was led to believe that the limit is 20 miles, but it is within that, but I don't drive and the extra zone charges are expensive from where I have to travel from.

musashi10

Actually I just worked it out and I think the difference in cost will more likely be £150/month.

Its also the fact that currently we are in essex and the wage reflects that. We're moving to central london where wages are significantly higher.

Oh well see what happens.

Uncertain

Suppose the office relocated to just around the corner from your house.

Would you ask them to reduce your salary by whatever you saved on travelling and extend your hours?

Obviously there is a balance and it seems the accepted limit is an extra hour each way.

vb1986

Hello,

Although I work in HR, I am not an employment law expert so I recommend you get some professionaladvice. However, from what I know...

In short: NO, they cant just say that, and you dont have to put up with the change!

The long explanation:

Your contract states that your workplace is x. I assume it does not say that they can move you to another site. Therefore this would be a redundancy situation, because the job at your current site no longer exists. Instead, they are offering you an alternative role, which is exactly the same job but at a different site.

Your employer will need to consult with you; the length of the consultation will depend on the number of employees who are being moved to the other site. You have to agree to the change- if you dont agree, the change is a unilateral change enforced by the employer, and you could resign and claim breach of contract, as well as potentially constructive dismissal.

When the employer consults with you, you could decline the job on the basis that the new job is not suitable alternative employment due to the distance/travelling costs, or you could choose to just accept it. You could ask if the employer would offer some kind of assistance e.g. helping with travel costs, or some employers put on a temporary bus service from the old site to the new site, to help employees adjust to the change.

If you do decline the alternative role (i.e. your current job but at the new site) you would be entitled to redundancy pay.

I hope you challenge them on this!

Indispensable_Hobbes

I was provided with a relocation payment when my offices changed, my commute was further.