Covering someone else's shift / travel costs over Christmas period

paulineb_2

I

Dunroamin wrote: »

I've only been driving for just over 10 years so I appreciate that not everybody drives. However, IME employers expect you to be self reliant for transport and, if you're not, then that's your problem to sort out.

Ive always been self reliant for transport and I've worked in many towns over the years that were 15 miles plus away from my home.

However, I worked for a long time in jobs where working over the festive season was the norm. And any time I did need to get a taxi for work, I paid it.

But the company who paid a taxi for staff over the festive period, they offered, I and others accepted. In that job the company didn't pay shift allowances, it was low paid and they made a gesture which people accepted. I said earlier in the thread that anytime I worked Christmas day I got a shift allowance and that paid the taxi. I got that wrong, I worked for an employer for a number of years who did pay a shift allowance but one employer who I worked for for a year didn't, they were the ones who paid the taxi for staff.

My point is, if I did drive, I'd have done so, but I don't and they offered me and other people who needed a taxi on shifts when there was no public transport on.
If they hadn't, I'd have paid for it as I did in many occasions in other jobs.

paulineb_2

Also, I never took getting a shift allowance or help with travel costs for granted, if I'd had neither ,id have got on with it, you know when you take certain jobs that working public holidays is the norm.

C_Mababejive

Never trade on promises and look after your own interests first. Always get cash upfront.

If you feel taken advantage of,,then in all probability, you have been.

Mojisola

top_drawer wrote: »

Months ago someone I know at work started feeling people out for working a night shift over the Christmas period as she wanted to go and see family far away so would have to travel back to do the shift costing around £50 in fuel.

She said as it was going to cost her this much she would put this towards a taxi. No-one was interested thus I've been rota'd to do it.

I've booked a taxi for tomorrow and its going to be £25 - she has said she will "give me something towards it." I don't want to be greedy but I feel like this wasn't really the deal I agreed too....

I would feel put upon as well. You have saved her breaking her holiday to come into work - she promised she would put up to £50 towards your travel costs.

Instead, she's roped someone else in to take you home and doesn't even want to pay for the other trip.

There's very little to can do to force her to cover the taxi cost but she sounds like a user - perhaps the others knew her better and that's why you were the only one who offered to help her?

Pollycat

top_drawer wrote: »

working a night shift over the Christmas period as she wanted to go and see family far away so would have to travel back to do the shift costing around £50 in fuel. I expressed an interest, more out of sympathy than actually wanting to work. She said as it was going to cost her this much she would put this towards a taxi. No-one was interested thus I've been rota'd to do it.

I appreciate the OP is getting paid for the shift but I think the parts I've put in bold are key.

This person shouldn't have offered this and then later reneged on it.

If she hadn't offered to pay this £50 in the first place, the OP could have considered if the extra pay was worth what she would have to pay out in taxis plus the (possible) inconvenience of working on Christmas Day before offering to do this shift.

Next time this woman comes looking for a favour, I'd be shaking my head 'No way'.
She doesn't deserve any favours, imho.

FatVonD

top_drawer wrote: »

In the past the nightclub / bar had an account with a taxi company and you got free journeys home over christmas, paid by the employer. Nowadays that practise in non-existant - certainly in my area of work , similarly food on shift / brew kit in the staff room and other little nicities.

When I worked in nightclubs they always laid on taxis to take staff home every night, Christmas or not, (or paid an allowance to other staff if they dropped you), I thought it was the law but this was many years ago so appreciate the law may have changed.

silvercar

Mojisola wrote: »

I would feel put upon as well. You have saved her breaking her holiday to come into work - she promised she would put up to £50 towards your travel costs.

Instead, she's roped someone else in to take you home and doesn't even want to pay for the other trip.

There's very little to can do to force her to cover the taxi cost but she sounds like a user - perhaps the others knew her better and that's why you were the only one who offered to help her?

Sounds like she thought finding someone to take you home was her contribution.

mountainofdebt

Pollycat wrote: »

I appreciate the OP is getting paid for the shift but I think the parts I've put in bold are key.

This person shouldn't have offered this and then later reneged on it.

If she hadn't offered to pay this £50 in the first place, the OP could have considered if the extra pay was worth what she would have to pay out in taxis plus the (possible) inconvenience of working on Christmas Day before offering to do this shift.

Next time this woman comes looking for a favour, I'd be shaking my head 'No way'.
She doesn't deserve any favours, imho.

I totally agree with this - for me, the woman has burnt her bridges as far as any other favours are concerned.

A colleague of mine has done the dirty (imo) to me and although the amount is far less than the OP's taxi fare, she'll never have the opportunity to do it to me again.

LannieDuck

I don't really see what this woman's done wrong. She may have offered to put £50 towards travel originally (which would have covered the taxis both ways), but then she found someone to cover one of the trips, thus saving £25, and the OP offered to 'put something towards it' as well, which I would take to mean that a 50:50 split on the other trip is reasonable.

OP might be regretting this offer of help for the travel costs... but so might the other lady. It sounds as if you've both ended up exactly where you offered to end up.

ziggy2004

If someone offered me £50 towards travel costs for doing them a favour ( regardless of what else I get out of that favour) I would expect them to cover the first £50 in travel costs incurred so in this case I would expect her to pay the whole £25 taxi fare.

Would I offer to pay someone's travel costs in order to not do a shift, probably not unless I was desperate to not work and I may have been less generous than offering to pay for the whole costs I would incur in doing it myself considering that I would also loose the wages from the shift. Yet that is all irrelevant as she did offer this and is now back tracking.

I would make it clear that you understood that she would pay up to £50 of any travel costs incurred and that you incurred £25 in costs. If she does not pay the full amount I would not do her any further favours. Not sure I would be inclined to do her favours regardless as it sounds a bit like pulling teeth.

Am surprised though that you can in effect pay someone to cover a shift. I have worked in at least 2 shift operating places where that was expressly forbidden to avoid situations like this.