Forced to move location

Notmyrealname

pollythena wrote: »

It will take me 2 hours to get to Halifax and 2 hours to get home every day, so I will be working 12 hours for 5 days a week, which I believe will be extremely detrimental to my physical and mental health. It will also leave me with no leisure time during the week.

You won't be working 12hrs a day at all. You'll be working 8 and travelling 4.

You think thats bad? I used to actually work 12 to 15hrs a day and have 45 minutes travelling at either side quite a lot in my former career.

Plenty of people leave home at 6am and get back at 6pm and manage to have leisure time during the week and its not detrimental to their health. And TBH, what do you really do on an evening anyway?

This isn't being done as a cost saving, it seems to be a very recent decision by the area manager to have all his staff in one location.

Really? So its cheaper to run two or more offices with all the costs associated than just run one? Riiiiight.

Sambucus_Nigra

pollythena wrote: »

I moved departments at the beginning of December to a new role, based in Leeds where I live and worked previously. Today it was announced that the department is moving to Halifax, which is 25 miles from where I live. I don't drive and rely on public transport, which is why I've never applied for roles in the Halifax office. It will take me 2 hours to get to Halifax and 2 hours to get home every day, so I will be working 12 hours for 5 days a week, which I believe will be extremely detrimental to my physical and mental health. It will also leave me with no leisure time during the week.

The building we work in now is owned and will continue to be owned by the company, with many other departments occupying it. We were told that because our roles would still exist we cannot opt for displacement or voluntary redundancy and have to work from Halifax. The only other option we were offered would be to work from another building altogether, which is on an industrial estate in a different town and completely inaccessible by public transport, so in essence we haven't been given an option at all. This isn't being done as a cost saving, it seems to be a very recent decision by the area manager to have all his staff in one location.

Travel costs will be covered but it's not the cost that's concerning me, it's the travel time. I'm not in a position to move house. Is there anything I can do? I have looked at other positions within the company but right now there aren't many.

Also, there are different pay bands. Leeds is in a higher band because it costs more to live in and although our pay will remain the same when we move, in future years our pay will be measured for Halifax which is lower. Is this fair when many of us will still be living in Leeds and incurring higher living costs, considering this is not a voluntary move?

I'm going to speak to ACAS tomorrow but wanted to know if anyone else had an opinion since they're closed right now.

I'm struggling as to what you want the answer to be. If you could tell me what answer you want, I'll type it for you.

19lottie82

Gordon_Hose wrote: »

I
Many people commute 2 hours each way everyday

No they don't.

BUT OP I'm sorry but I have to agree with the others, you really don't seem to be open to suggestions or trying new transport methods.

Sambucus_Nigra

19lottie82 wrote: »

No they don't.

Yes they do!

asparagusnextleft

I don't think the OP is exaggerating about the journey time - especially early in the morning. I live in East Leeds and to get into work for 8.00am (in the middle of Leeds) I have to get the 7.03am bus which gets me in just in time because the bus service where I live is rubbish. If I had to go to work in Halifax for 8.00am there isn't an early enough bus so I would have walk a mile and a half to get one (at 5.10am) which would get me into Leeds to the station and the total journey would be just over two hours, getting me into Halifax railway station at 7.12am. The next option would be a bus from here at 6.24am and a train to Halifax which would get into the station at 7.59am so if you start work at 8.00am this would be no good as you'd be late unless you worked on the station platform.

I do understand what you are all saying about this being a reasonable distance, which it is, but the public transport options are not great (if the OP lives somewhere similar to me) and if you are not used to this sort of journey, it's the kind of thing that fills you with horror.

Would it not be possible for someone to drop you off at Crossgates or Garforth so you can get a direct train and pick you up again from there in the evening? I think that's going to be your best bet if it can be done.

Gordon_Hose

19lottie82 wrote: »

No they don't.

What a stupid thing to say. Of course they do, I'm one of them. So are the vast majority of people that get on the same train as me.

dizzyrascal

Have every sympathy with the OP. I work to live not live to work and although I only live five miles from work (I don’t usually drive as it’s too expensive to park) it takes about 1 hour to get there whether I walk or catch the bus as there is no direct route.
I would hate to have a 2 hour journey at the start and finish of my day. I realise that some people choose to do that to work in London but I work in a Northern city and you don’t expect it. I think an hour is reasonable for most to get to work but 2 hours x 2 each day is too much if you want some sort of life. Just my opinion and I would be looking for a new role asap.

Gordon_Hose

My life is just fine with a 4 hour commute each day. I leave the house at 06:15 and get home at 18:30 every week day. I get to spend time in the evenings with my 6 month old, I have weekends off... there's no problem. Better than not having a job at all.

jfh7gwa

dizzyrascal wrote: »

I would hate to have a 2 hour journey at the start and finish of my day. I realise that some people choose to do that to work in London but I work in a Northern city and you don’t expect it.

Yes, when I do a 2 hr (sometimes much less, sometimes longer, depending on which office I'm at that day) commute, I hate it too.

But needs must. I need to earn at least X to pay for my basic living costs (I'm frugal, but there's a minimum amount all the same).

So what I hate or don't hate doesn't really come into it. It's about 9th or 10th on the list of whether I take a job or not, really. A smaller element of consideration than salary and so on.

All you can do if you want to avoid that commute is arrange your affairs as comfortable as possible to avoid it... try and move closer to work, lift share, ask about working from home if your job is one that can be done occasionally from home, anything.

Those are the sacrifices we make for being able to earn a living.

claire16c

I used to do a 2 hour commute to London and its not that bad (unless there are delays in which case yes it is and can be awful). But what was bad was the £5k a year cost of it. If I could do it for the cost of whats posted above, I wouldnt think twice about it! Because then at least then when something went wrong you wouldnt be thinking about the hundreds each month you were paying for it.

I think its rather ridiculous to say it would be harmful to your health, seeing as thousands of people have commutes that long and are perfectly fine.

How long would it take to drive? If its quicker why not start driving lessons now before the move? Because if you cant drive, as you have now found out, your options are limited to that of often bad public transport - and you are also limiting your options if you do look for a new job.