travelling for meetings for work

invisibleyousee

Hi,

Thanks to everyone for replies.

The others doing the same role have a car allowance or a company car, but seemingly it's cheaper for them now to give us a van to get to meetings/site visits when we need to.

I've checked my contract, and this is what it says ( I've changed location of the office to "the one 30 mins away" )

Working at/from: "the one 30 mins away"

It then says Place of Work & Mobility: Your place of work will be "the one 30 mins away". However, you may be required to work at various other locations either permanently or from time to time as determined by the company and to travel from various work at sites for the Company throughout the region".

I haven't opted out of the 48 hour EU reg.

The office I am supposed to be based at, and the one I understood I would be working at most the time, is the one that's within 30 minutes. At my interview they even asked why I was leaving my last job and I was completely honest and told them that it was because I didn't want to have to commute so far.

My understanding is that I shouldn't have to give more than my "normal" commute to work (that being the 30 mins), so that if they want me to go to the offices that are further than that then it's on their time.

My boss is saying that we have to work the 8 hours in between our commute, even when they change the commute time up to 1.5/2/3 hours, and that if have to visit sites we then have to go back to the nearest office to that site and work from their until the "normal finish time" and then have that big commute back.

njm123

'It then says Place of Work & Mobility: Your place of work will be "the one 30 mins away". However, you may be required to work at various other locations either permanently or from time to time as determined by the company and to travel from various work at sites for the Company throughout the region".'

This mobility clause can be interpreted as you can be required to work anywhere within the region - so if the three hour commute is within what the company uses as a region they can require you to get there on your time and work the 8 hour day. Unfortunately they are probably completely within their rights. I say probably as I wasn't at your interview (i.e if the question was asked and not answered honestly) and don't know who you work for to know their company policies (check these in case your manager is just trying it on to make his bonus).

Whether you get 'travelling time' for the time above your 'normal' commute will depend on the company and circumstances - generally my current employers are very good in this area.

DVardysShadow

invisibleyousee wrote: »

My boss is saying that we have to work the 8 hours in between our commute, even when they change the commute time up to 1.5/2/3 hours, and that if have to visit sites we then have to go back to the nearest office to that site and work from their until the "normal finish time" and then have that big commute back.

I would refuse that and go back to your normal place of work as that is the one in the contract. It might end in an argument, but given your reason for changing jobs, it might as well go that way.

bevanuk

Why would you refuse? This is real life, people on a career track have to do to these things. Either do it, and enjoy the benefits of it later in life. Or don't and be known as a fuddy duddy who just wants to do their core hours and have no aspirations.

invisibleyousee

It's not about being a "fuddy duddy" or having no career aspirations! It's quite simply that the job I accepted was one where I had a maximum 30 minute commute to work, with an 8 hour day, then a 30 minute drive home. Having that changed to a 2 hour commute plus the 8 hours then 2 hours home is a significant difference and isn't what I signed up for - it's making me stressed and miserable. I'm not getting paid for them 3 hours extra, so I'm losing 3 hours of MY time because the company want me to go to a meeting somewhere else.

silvercar

bevanuk wrote: »

Why would you refuse? This is real life, people on a career track have to do to these things. Either do it, and enjoy the benefits of it later in life. Or don't and be known as a fuddy duddy who just wants to do their core hours and have no aspirations.

I agree. OH gets sent abroad about once a month. Day trip involving leaving the house at 4.30am, driving to the airport 1-2 hour flight, in the oversease office by 11am, works to 5.30pm and then the reverse journey home. Depending on flight times, he gets home between 9pm and 11.30pm.

No extra pay, overtime or TOIL.

Buts it's real life, a relatively well paid job, and a career.

silvercar

invisibleyousee wrote: »

It's not about being a "fuddy duddy" or having no career aspirations! It's quite simply that the job I accepted was one where I had a maximum 30 minute commute to work, with an 8 hour day, then a 30 minute drive home. Having that changed to a 2 hour commute plus the 8 hours then 2 hours home is a significant difference and isn't what I signed up for - it's making me stressed and miserable. I'm not getting paid for them 3 hours extra, so I'm losing 3 hours of MY time because the company want me to go to a meeting somewhere else.

Is it the hours you object to or the fact you are not paid for the commuting time?

Red_Elle

Whether or not other people choose to do extra hours out of standard work hours and/or travel is entirely irrelevant.
The OP is not asking for people's opinions on their ambition, drive and what they are willing to do to get on in the workplace and also didn't sign up to this.
My DH travels away a lot with work in his new role, but he chooses to do that.
The OP specifically left a role for the very situation that they now find themselves in.
Comments like 'it's real life' suggest that the OP is whining when it's a perfectly legitimate issue.
'Real life' isn't a specific thing. You will find that not everyone in the world has an identical 'real life!'

scheming_gypsy

silvercar wrote: »

I agree. OH gets sent abroad about once a month. Day trip involving leaving the house at 4.30am, driving to the airport 1-2 hour flight, in the oversease office by 11am, works to 5.30pm and then the reverse journey home. Depending on flight times, he gets home between 9pm and 11.30pm.

No extra pay, overtime or TOIL.

Buts it's real life, a relatively well paid job, and a career.

there's a big difference from once a month to on a 'near daily basis' which is what the OP said theirs is on their first post. they left their job because of the commuting and this once has gone from 30 minutes to a few hours.

invisibleyousee

Thank you to those who understand where I'm coming from - I know some people have a large commute every day but for the most part they choose to do that. My step-father has 1.5 hour commute each way to work but he chooses to do this because the pay is so much better there.

For me, I'm earning 16k pre-tax a year (so not a huge amount) - and I wouldn't have left my previous job for this one if I'd known this would be the situation. I'm not trying to whine or go "poor me", I'm asking for advice on what I should do and where I stand in this situation, because I don't really know who I should talk to when my line-manager is basically part of the problem. If I'd chosen a job that I knew was going to have this much travelling in my own time, I wouldn't have taken it, simple as that.