Is Business Commute Working Time?

Pont

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

That clause is actually there to ensure staff have access to their own transport... not about working hours.

Is there anything about contracted hours, overtime etc?

Is he working a 37, 42 hour or whatever working week? This is the relevant information.

Herein lies part of (whole of) the problem. Any overtime/TOIL is 'at the discretion of your line manager'. However, after a little delving around it seems like other line managers are giving TOIL for the same situations. My friend's line manager is a workoholic (no lunch breaks etc) and expects all of his team to do the same.

37.5 hours per week - so even with the extra travel time this doesn't take him over the 48 hours (WTRs).

Pont

ohreally wrote: »

Time for a stern chat with the line manager about some reasonableness being accommodated with the mobile working, perhaps also establishing why the flexibility appears to fall only on him - why is this burden not being shared?

Since the employer is an LA, there will be a trade union readily available to seek assistance.

My friend has tried to approach his line manager about this. The response was 'tough'!

My friend is not in a union.

Pont

Tiddlywinks wrote: »

By 'LA' do you mean local authority or letting agent or something else?

If the former then there will be organisational policies to cover remote / mobile / detached working. What do they say?

Essentially this will not be a line manager's call - it will all be down to the policy... and your friend needs to do the research of the documents available covering this area and ask HR for assistance if the matter is not covered.

Local Authority.

We've looked through the various policies on the intranet. All they say is overtime payments/TOIL is 'at your line manager's descretion'.

My feeling is that the 'tough' response is obviously unsatisfactory, and my friend needs to go to his senior manager (above his line manager) and ask for a concrete decision to be made.

Tiddlywinks

Do not escalate the situation without first appearing reasonable.

Your friend needs to put the issue into writing (email will do) and submit it to the line manager for a response. If a verbal response is received, your friend should summarise that response in a follow up email and ask for confirmation from his LM that his understanding is correct.

Then he has something to query with HR - politely drawing attention to a lack of organisational policy and apparent inconsistencies across managers.

Jaybee_16

Whilst working for a LA means any changes have to go through a few trade union consultation processes, you should also be aware of HMRC rules on travel expenses:

Section 339(2) ITEPA 2003

Someone who has two or more employments, or is in an employment that requires regular attendance at more than one workplace, may have more than one permanent workplace at the same time.


Each case must be decided on its own facts and most employees will only have one permanent workplace at any one time. Factors that point to a workplace being a second permanent workplace include:

• the employee regularly performs a significant part of his or her duties there
• people would expect to be able to contact the employee at the second workplace
• the employee has an office, or desk, and support services at the second workplace that he or she regularly uses.

No single factor is decisive in establishing whether a second workplace is a permanent workplace. It depends on the employee's work pattern. But if, for example, an employee regularly spends 40% of his or her time at a second workplace, it is unlikely, given the frequency of the visits, that each visit would be to perform a task of limited duration or for some other temporary purpose. In this example the presumption would be that the second workplace is a permanent workplace.

I doubt this would happen in a LA, but be aware there could be a risk of the expenses to Town B being reconsidered.

ohreally

Pont wrote: »

Travel expenses are paid for the extra 40 miles (in total) a day

Is it not mileage allowance he receives?

Pont

ohreally wrote: »

Is it not mileage allowance he receives?

45ppm mileage allowance plus parking fee reimbursement.

Tiddlywinks

You need to separate the reimbursement around the travel costs from the reimbursement of additional travel time.

The employer pays additional travel costs which acknowledges that this is not the 'home office'... so your friend needs to find the policy which deals with reimbursement for additional travel time when working from a remote location.

No-one here can help - it is down to contracts and organisational policy.