Colleague unable to commute to work

scottishbusdriver

Hi,

Just looking for a bit of advice for a colleague if anyone can help? 

He's been working at the bus depot since January as a bus fueller/cleaner, and recently returned from furlough. Pre-Covid he would get the airport bus home, which ran 24 hours, however this is no longer running 24hrs (Due to COVID), and therefore he is unable to stay until the end of his shift as he isn't able to get home. 

He raised the issue with his line manager before coming back from furlough, and was told that it was his problem and that he must stay for the duration of his shift, regardless of the issue. Subsequently, he put a transfer request in to go back bus driving, which he was doing before moving to the depot, and would resolve the issue of not being able to get home (earlier finish and staff shuttle bus). The manager instantly refused the transfer request upon receipt with the reason being "that it would make the depot short-staffed".

My colleague is now in a position where he is unable to complete his shifts, and is getting disciplinary action for having to leave early. The company are actively recruiting bus drivers (Indeed, Local Paper and Jobsite), but the manager is not allowing him to transfer.

Where would he stand on this? Speaking to him, he's worried about losing his job altogether. A simple transfer driving for a couple of months would allow him to stay with the company, and hope things pick up after COVID, but he feels like he's being cornered into having no option other than to quit.

Any help is good help!

Thanks

KatrinaWaves

Is he not able to get taxis or lifts?

as a general rule your employer is not responsible for your commute travel. 

scottishbusdriver

KatrinaWaves said:

Is he not able to get taxis or lifts?

as a general rule your employer is not responsible for your commute travel. 

Thanks for your reply. 

He finishes at 2am, so unable to get a lift, and a taxi would cost him £20 one-way, so he'd be worse off than if he was finishing early.

KatrinaWaves

Unfortunately being ‘worse off’ than finishing early isn’t an argument. If they won’t accommodate him by leaving early or by driving shifts then he will have to get a taxi or risk his job (assuming the airport bus isn’t a contractual benefit)

MovingForwards

Can your friend cycle to work and back or buy a cheap runabout with MOT?

How many miles does he live away from work as £20 taxi doesn't sound too far.

Comms69

scottishbusdriver said:

Hi,

Just looking for a bit of advice for a colleague if anyone can help? 

He's been working at the bus depot since January as a bus fueller/cleaner, and recently returned from furlough. Pre-Covid he would get the airport bus home, which ran 24 hours, however this is no longer running 24hrs (Due to COVID), and therefore he is unable to stay until the end of his shift as he isn't able to get home. 

He raised the issue with his line manager before coming back from furlough, and was told that it was his problem and that he must stay for the duration of his shift, regardless of the issue. Subsequently, he put a transfer request in to go back bus driving, which he was doing before moving to the depot, and would resolve the issue of not being able to get home (earlier finish and staff shuttle bus). The manager instantly refused the transfer request upon receipt with the reason being "that it would make the depot short-staffed".

My colleague is now in a position where he is unable to complete his shifts, and is getting disciplinary action for having to leave early. The company are actively recruiting bus drivers (Indeed, Local Paper and Jobsite), but the manager is not allowing him to transfer.

Where would he stand on this? Speaking to him, he's worried about losing his job altogether. A simple transfer driving for a couple of months would allow him to stay with the company, and hope things pick up after COVID, but he feels like he's being cornered into having no option other than to quit.

Any help is good help!

Thanks

He's right to be worried tbh, he should start looking for new work asap. It's his job to get to work. 

As for the transfer, he can still apply for the bus driver job, just needs to go through the process. 

KittyCat70

It is often the case that employers can and will block transfers, if it leaves a staffing shortfall. Further, it is your friends responsibility to get to and from work. I'd suggest he gets a bike or cheap car. He cannot continue to simply leave early without repercussions.

Barny1979

Was the employee given any warning of the changes in circumstances related to the buses? I know it isn't linked directly to his role, but still would be good to have known about the change in advance for him to mitigate.

Savvy_Sue

Union ... 

Moped?

TELLIT01

If it's his immediate manager who's the problem he needs to escalate it to the depot manager.  Refusing to allow him to transfer when he can't do his current job anyway is utterly stupid and just being bloody minded.

KatrinaWaves

TELLIT01 said:

If it's his immediate manager who's the problem he needs to escalate it to the depot manager.  Refusing to allow him to transfer when he can't do his current job anyway is utterly stupid and just being bloody minded.

Not really. Is he wanting a permanent transfer back to driving, no, OP states a couple months. What happens once transport is back up and running, will he want to move back to the depot and leave them short of drivers. They are clearly short in both areas, but if they move him and he wants to them move back what happens to the person taken on to replace him.

theres far more to think of that just ‘he cant get a bus so let him change jobs’ utterly stupid and bloody minded? Hardly. You can’t just let employees shift around to suit their own transport when you’re actively needing to take on new people.