travelling for meetings for work

invisibleyousee

I changed jobs in August because my last employer closed the office and the the "new" office location meant a long commtue and cost more than I could afford (no job worth getting in debt for that).

So I've started at my new employer, and when I took the job I thought my commute to the office would be max 30 minutes. The cost isn't an issue as they give us a van for work purposes. However now they're sending me out to all different offices and are saying that I have to do that commute in my own time - so yesterday it was over 2 hours to get to a different office for a meeting, plus my 8 hour working day, meaning my day was 12 hours long for 8 hours pay - I got home and was so tried I cried.

A couple weeks ago I had to travel nearly 3 hours for a meeting and under what they're saying I would have to do 8 hours work in between that 3 hour commute each way.

I'm so frustrated and it's got to the stage where I'm feeling very stressed and constantly exhausted. It doesn't help either that they're changing the office on a near daily basis so I'm finding it very difficult to be able to plan anything for what should be "my" time after work because I simply don't know when I'll be home or how early I'll need to leave the next morning :-(

Does anybody know the rules on this - if they want me to travel that far for a meeting, should I really have to absorb this time myself? I don't think I can cope with this long-term.

Jarndyce

Welcome to the real world.

What does your contract say about your location?

Andy_L

There are no rules, it comes down to what your contract says.
However the hours would count towards the working time directive & (I think) for calculating minimum wage

DVardysShadow

Look at the working time directive. As long as you have not opted out, you can call a halt to this after 48 hours/week. A 14 hour day is not acceptable and if your normal place of work is 30 minutes away from home, then that is all the time you should put in above your contracted day.

scheming_gypsy

Are the meetings lasting all day or are you hanging around to do your full 8 hours? Whenever I've had to travel to other sites for meetings I'd head back to my office as soon as the meeting is over and finish on time. Commuting to the meetings are only usually in your time when it's not possible to get there / back in your working day.
If the meeting is at 9 and a two hour drive away, set off at 7 and then go back to base after the meeting. Then leave your office at 5; you shouldn't have to stick around on site till 5 and then do your commute home. a few years ago we used to arrange meetings in Walsall so they'd finish around 3pm. If it finished at 3:30pm we'd be getting back to the office around 5pm which was time to go home; so we'd technically finished for the day, which meant we'd nip to Tamworth and go snowboarding.

invisibleyousee

Thanks - I'll double check my contract again this evening but I'm sure it says that my office is the one that's 30 minutes away (I wouldn't have taken the job if it had a greater commute than the job I was leaving!).

My new boss is saying that we have to do the full 8 hours in the office where the meeting is - so if the meeting starts at 9 and the office is 2 hours away, I need to leave by 7 and wouldn't be allowed to finish til after 5, then my 2 hour commute back - which seems so wrong to me.

The way I understood it should work is how you've said - that the 30 minutes for my "normal" commute is what I should give them, and anything over that is part of my working day...

I'm struggling with this and also scared that I'm on a 6 month probationary period til the end of February.

scheming_gypsy

invisibleyousee wrote: »

My new boss is saying that we have to do the full 8 hours in the office where the meeting is - so if the meeting starts at 9 and the office is 2 hours away, I need to leave by 7 and wouldn't be allowed to finish til after 5, then my 2 hour commute back - which seems so wrong to me.

.

it does sound wrong. It sounds as though they're saying they don't trust people to be honest with their time and will go home early.

Although as you're in the office for 8 hours it sounds as though they're trying to say that you're only working 40 hours a week, therefore your working time regulations and minimum wage etc aren't taken into account as you're travelling in your own time.

invisibleyousee

Thanks...I just don't know what to do :-(

It does feel as though it's a combination of them not trusting people but also trying to get as much as they can out of employees...I just can't get my head around them deciding I have to travel so much further and that I have to absorb the time...I'm scared to rock the boat though as I don't want them to use it as a reason to sack me or something.

InsideInsurance

Ultimately your employers can release you, with notice, without having to give any justification in the first 12 months of employment so you may want to consider that before making any waves.

I would be more concerned that being out the house for 12 hours causes you to cry. Irrespective of the pay element of the complaint I would argue that at least 80% of the office I work in are doing this every day.

My experience with the companies I have worked for would be that if you are going to a different site/ office to normal then you could leave a little early if it is a particularly long commute (probably 2.5 hours or longer). So when down in Poole my meeting finished at 1pm which was a 3 hour drive. I am contracted 9-5 (though normally finish around 6) but on that day after the meeting I continued to work until 4pm and left shortly after that.

getmore4less

The job in it's current form is unsustainable,

So you either

Put up with it and look for another job.

Push back and take the risk they just get someone else.

Why do people need to move around offices so much.
Why do you need the van it indiates there was going to be travel
If you are just going to other sites and they are saying it is a comute you dont ned a van.

How many are effected by this, you need to et all on side to push back.

magenta22

Personally I think that it should be within working time as you are travelling to a meeting for business purposes. Everyone that I know who has business meetings, if the meeting is say a two hour commute they go straight home, especially if it was an intense meeting.

Your place of work should be on your contract. They should have told you about the travelling in my opinion but it seems that some employers don't seem to think this is information they should mention.