Cannot afford to travel to new temp location

wubu

My employer wants me to travel to a new location for 8wks which will cost me £364 p/m which they will pay in exspenses but I’m not financially in a position where I have that as disposable and they refuse to prebook train and bus tickets and all I’m told is “you’ve not got a choice”.

Also my travel time will be 2hrs due to connections (we don’t have to work more than an hour away and it doesn’t take more than 45mins in a car but apparently not having to travel more than an hour excludes commuting) and I’ll also have to be on time which is a little difficult as 4 out of 5 days I have to take the children to school. Getting them picked up from school is fine but as I finish my work at 8pm I won’t be picking them up until 10pm. I’ve expressed how difficult it would make it for me both with the kids and with money to which my boss replies “you’ll have to get a child minder” again this costs money and I feel completely backed into a corner.

xapprenticex

HOw long have you been there?

wubu

I’ve at my base location 3yrs 2 months

xapprenticex

Good, best you get that out the way first as that is the first question youll be asked when the others show up

TELLIT01

Stand you ground and tell your employer that you don't have the funds to pay for travel and claim it back. They might get p'd off but if they really need you to go to the other location they will have to provide either the tickets or an advance to cover you until you can reclaim the expenses.

Savvy_Sue

wubu wrote: »

I’ve expressed how difficult it would make it for me both with the kids and with money to which my boss replies “you’ll have to get a child minder” again this costs money

Your domestic arrangements are not your employer's concern, I'm afraid.

Can you see any alternative to this temporary relocation? Sometimes if a solution is offered, an employer will accept it.

Undervalued

I would hope they can be persuaded to advance you the money for the train tickets, rather than claim it back later. However most well written employment contracts / employee handbooks with have a clause regarding working in other locations and the method of reclaiming any allowable expenses. If there is and the employer wants to stick rigidly to it there is little you can do.

As others have said, if you have a contractual obligation to go, childcare etc is not your employer's problem.

trailingspouse

I'm assuming you don't drive? Or don't have access to a car? Sadly, that is also not your employer's problem.


Do you have a credit card that you could use to buy the tickets and which could then be repaid when the expenses come through?

Pennywise

TELLIT01 wrote: »

Stand you ground and tell your employer that you don't have the funds to pay for travel and claim it back. They might get p'd off but if they really need you to go to the other location they will have to provide either the tickets or an advance to cover you until you can reclaim the expenses.

Or they may terminate your contract and leave you unemployed. What does your contract of employment say about expenses and working locations? Being "that" employee may not end up well for the OP.

HurdyGurdy

wubu wrote: »

.......... 4 out of 5 days I have to take the children to school. Getting them picked up from school is fine but as I finish my work at 8pm I won’t be picking them up until 10pm. I’ve expressed how difficult it would make it for me both with the kids and with money to which my boss replies “you’ll have to get a child minder” again this costs money and I feel completely backed into a corner.

If you finish at 8pm, who is looking after your children until you finish now?

Do they realistically expect you to find a childminder at short notice who will even work until 10pm? Never mind the disruption to your children of not getting home and to bed until gone 10pm. I know that domestic arrangements are not the problem of the employer, but for goodness sake, there's a limit.

My daughter works at Smyths toyshop and they are now open until 10pm in the run up to Christmas. Once the store is closed, the staff then have to tidy up/prep for the next day, meaning she's not getting out until 11pm. She has a seven year old. She's a single parent, and no childminder round here will work until 11.20pm when she gets home, plus it is ridiculous to expect a seven year old to be able to stay up until then and still be compos mentis for school the following day.

Luckily my daughter has us on hand to have the little one overnight, but crikey, it's expecting an awful lot of parents to be able to organise extraordinary childcare at short notice.

Undervalued

HurdyGurdy wrote: »

If you finish at 8pm, who is looking after your children until you finish now?

Do they realistically expect you to find a childminder at short notice who will even work until 10pm? Never mind the disruption to your children of not getting home and to bed until gone 10pm. I know that domestic arrangements are not the problem of the employer, but for goodness sake, there's a limit.

My daughter works at Smyths toyshop and they are now open until 10pm in the run up to Christmas. Once the store is closed, the staff then have to tidy up/prep for the next day, meaning she's not getting out until 11pm. She has a seven year old. She's a single parent, and no childminder round here will work until 11.20pm when she gets home, plus it is ridiculous to expect a seven year old to be able to stay up until then and still be compos mentis for school the following day.

Luckily my daughter has us on hand to have the little one overnight, but crikey, it's expecting an awful lot of parents to be able to organise extraordinary childcare at short notice.

Yes it is but the time to have thought about that is before the employee agrees to their contract. It is amazing how often people blindly sign up to something then create hell when the employer wants to insist on it.