Company policy of 90 days remote work abroad not applying to some employees

mvk0016

Hi, I have been at my company since 2015, I'm from another EU country and from 2015-2020 I worked 2 days from home here in the UK, and also could work from abroad as frequently as a liked, I just asked for manager approval and within a few minutes they would approve.

In 2020 (apparently due to some people in my Department running off to other countries for 1+ year without notifying the company), the Head of my Department decided to "punish" his Department by only allowing work from abroad for a max of 10 days a year, when the legally allowed time is 90 days. Our company policy states that for remote working abroad of under 10 days we don't need to fill in any forms, just manager approval via email, but he has also been forcing us to fill in the company form (meant to be for over 10 day requests) in order to approve (which goes through approval of 3 manager levels + HR + Legal). This special "Department policy" has only been communicated verbally to us, not in written form for 3 WHOLE YEARS.

A couple of days ago we received a company-wide message, that went out to all employees, announcing a policy change, that short-term relocations can be requested for up to 90 days per year (before there was no timeframe clearly stated in the policy). I asked my manager if that applied to me, and he contacted our HR partner who confirmed that no change to our Department policy, "the Head has stipulated that for our Department there is a maximum of 10 days short-term relocation in any calendar year". I have asked multiple times to have this IN WRITING, or where this policy of 10 days max is stated (specifically for our Department), with no response, it's all been "word of mouth" i.e. X guy=Department Head has decided this for his employees.

I work fully remote from home in the UK since 2020, which has been authorized by the company and I appear officially as a remote employee in the system, hence there is no excuse of "you can't work from another country, as we need you in the office".

When I asked my manager (who is happy with me WFH abroad for 90 days per year) if I could have the policy for our Department somewhere officially stated in writing (company intranet where the policies are stored, or official department announcement) I was sent an email with the grievance policy and "Following up from our conversation about clarity on the relocation policy, you can submit your complaint following the grievance policy here (URL)" and he also cc'ed HR on the email, which I think is a bit of a violation of privacy.

There is no Union in the company. Do I have any rights and would it be worth starting a grievance procedure, or will I just become blacklisted and they will try to eventually make my life difficult so I can quit? I absolutely LOVE my job, and I wish I could retire in this company (I'm 43) but the WFH abroad unfairness is a deal-breaker for me, as my elderly mother lives in another country and I struggle to spend sufficient time with her without using up my whole annual leave allocation.

Should I contact an employment lawyer, or is this too small an issue for them to deal with? If yes, does anyone know how much they should charge to help me with the grievance procedure?

PS. The company operates a hybrid remote business, and a lot of the new roles being hired are remote-only.

PS2. Could I complain on the grounds of discrimination? i.e. some employees (our Department is 90%+ foreigners) being allowed to WFH 90 days and some not, without any explanation as to why? (apart from Department Head has decided this for his employees?) Note that the Department Head is a foreigner himself and has been in the company for 12 years, so no chance of him leaving anytime soon...

GingerTim

I'm afraid I don't think you are going to get very far with this, especially in the absence of a union (there is nothing to stop you joining one, by the way, you have a legal right to union membership). Unless there is something in your contract specifying this allowance, not every worker has to be treated the same way and have the same allowances.

A discrimination claim would only be successful if you are being prevented from working abroad owing to a protected characteristic, i.e. discrimination owing to race, gender, religion, disability, and so on.

Undervalued

mvk0016 said:

Hi, I have been at my company since 2015, I'm from another EU country and from 2015-2020 I worked 2 days from home here in the UK, and also could work from abroad as frequently as a liked, I just asked for manager approval and within a few minutes they would approve.

In 2020 (apparently due to some people in my Department running off to other countries for 1+ year without notifying the company), the Head of my Department decided to "punish" his Department by only allowing work from abroad for a max of 10 days a year, when the legally allowed time is 90 days. Our company policy states that for remote working abroad of under 10 days we don't need to fill in any forms, just manager approval via email, but he has also been forcing us to fill in the company form (meant to be for over 10 day requests) in order to approve (which goes through approval of 3 manager levels + HR + Legal). This special "Department policy" has only been communicated verbally to us, not in written form for 3 WHOLE YEARS.

A couple of days ago we received a company-wide message, that went out to all employees, announcing a policy change, that short-term relocations can be requested for up to 90 days per year (before there was no timeframe clearly stated in the policy). I asked my manager if that applied to me, and he contacted our HR partner who confirmed that no change to our Department policy, "the Head has stipulated that for our Department there is a maximum of 10 days short-term relocation in any calendar year". I have asked multiple times to have this IN WRITING, or where this policy of 10 days max is stated (specifically for our Department), with no response, it's all been "word of mouth" i.e. X guy=Department Head has decided this for his employees.

I work fully remote from home in the UK since 2020, which has been authorized by the company and I appear officially as a remote employee in the system, hence there is no excuse of "you can't work from another country, as we need you in the office".

When I asked my manager (who is happy with me WFH abroad for 90 days per year) if I could have the policy for our Department somewhere officially stated in writing (company intranet where the policies are stored, or official department announcement) I was sent an email with the grievance policy and "Following up from our conversation about clarity on the relocation policy, you can submit your complaint following the grievance policy here (URL)" and he also cc'ed HR on the email, which I think is a bit of a violation of privacy.

There is no Union in the company. Do I have any rights and would it be worth starting a grievance procedure, or will I just become blacklisted and they will try to eventually make my life difficult so I can quit? I absolutely LOVE my job, and I wish I could retire in this company (I'm 43) but the WFH abroad unfairness is a deal-breaker for me, as my elderly mother lives in another country and I struggle to spend sufficient time with her without using up my whole annual leave allocation.

Should I contact an employment lawyer, or is this too small an issue for them to deal with? If yes, does anyone know how much they should charge to help me with the grievance procedure?

PS. The company operates a hybrid remote business, and a lot of the new roles being hired are remote-only.

PS2. Could I complain on the grounds of discrimination? i.e. some employees (our Department is 90%+ foreigners) being allowed to WFH 90 days and some not, without any explanation as to why? (apart from Department Head has decided this for his employees?) Note that the Department Head is a foreigner himself and has been in the company for 12 years, so no chance of him leaving anytime soon...

Only if there is evidence to show that the real reason for the decision amounts to unlawful discrimination on legally protected grounds such as race, religion, gender etc. "Foreign" isn't in itself a valid ground.

There is a popular misconception that all employees must be treated the same. Most "discrimination" is perfectly lawful.

With only a very few legal exceptions any employee has a right to join a trade union. However, a union is unlikely to help with an issue that started before the member joined unless they feel the matter has wider importance.

LightFlare

As far as I am aware - there is no legal right to be allowed to work remotely/abroad and no legal obligation for a company to offer it

HampshireH

A grievance seems a bit extreme at this stage. There are loads of reasons why a business may not want people working abroad. Though they may not apply to your case. I would reply copying HR back in.

"Thank-you for you reply and for copying (name) from HR in so the right person can advise.

@ (name from HR) I haven't asked to put a grievance in, I would just like to know the answer to my questions below:

As discussed with (manager) I had a question regarding the new policy which was shared to all staff with no exclusions mentioned. Please could you clarify that this policy does not apply to all members of staff, specifically the team I am in and that this is not a benefit I am entitled to as a result. If this is the case, is there a separate policy we should have been sent for our department and if so please can you forward me so I know what my entitlement is."

Devongardener

There is no legal right to work from outside the UK for up to 90 days.

Grumpy_chap

mvk0016 said:

only allowing work from abroad for a max of 10 days a year, when the legally allowed time is 90 days. 

It is not clear which "legally allowed" rules you refer to.  I am not aware of any such legal entitlement.  Can you clarify please?

From my understanding, the employer allowing 10 days (or 90 days) is very generous and more than many employers will offer.  The issue of working-from-home and whether WFH can be anywhere in the world arises from time to time.  There are common reasons why employers do not support WFH being abroad:

• Rights of individuals to live and work abroad
• Employer may need to consider alternative tax rules / employment rights
• Variance of working hours / working days / bank holidays
• Protection of data / data processing 
• Need to be able to attend meetings / training / team-building / other events in the UK

Any permission to work abroad is quite generous.

With regard to the policy that has been recently advised:

mvk0016 said:

A couple of days ago we received a company-wide message, that went out to all employees, announcing a policy change, that short-term relocations can be requested for up to 90 days per year (before there was no timeframe clearly stated in the policy). I asked my manager if that applied to me, and he contacted our HR partner who confirmed that no change to our Department policy, "the Head has stipulated that for our Department there is a maximum of 10 days short-term relocation in any calendar year". 

The policy only permits individuals to "request" the short term relocation.
Does that "short term relocation" mean to simply WFH but abroad? 
OR does it mean short-term relocation (secondment) to a different business unit?

I can also see that there might be guidance for Managers around how to assess any request.
I request to WFH in Barbados beach hut for the next 90 days because the weather in England is dreary right now might not be an acceptable reason.
I request to WFH from my home town where my ancestors are as my Father is in his final days might be permitted.

You end by saying whether discrimination might apply, and that seems a little muddled the way I read it:

mvk0016 said:

I'm from another EU country 

"the Head has stipulated that for our Department there is a maximum of 10 days short-term relocation in any calendar year".

PS2. Could I complain on the grounds of discrimination? i.e. some employees (our Department is 90%+ foreigners) being allowed to WFH 90 days and some not, without any explanation as to why? (apart from Department Head has decided this for his employees?) Note that the Department Head is a foreigner himself and has been in the company for 12 years, so no chance of him leaving anytime soon...

If you are from "another EU country", then you are presumably within the "90%+ foreigners" so you are being treated the same as everyone else in the Department - maximum 10 days remote (abroad) working.

What are the grounds you think that there is discrimination?

LightFlare

Even IF they included your department in the “new”policy - it only states “up to 90days may be requested”  (based on what you have written)

Being able to request something doesn’t indicate acceptance 

Generally in the workplace it is not usually productive to focus on what others are or aren’t allowed to do or how such and such will benefit you.

Concentrate on what you want/are requesting and how that will either benefit or not detriment the company.

Predict any objections and prepare clear,concise solutions.

Hoenir

mvk0016 said:

When I asked my manager (who is happy with me WFH abroad for 90 days per year) if I could have the policy for our Department somewhere officially stated in writing (company intranet where the policies are stored, or official department announcement) I was sent an email with the grievance policy and "Following up from our conversation about clarity on the relocation policy, you can submit your complaint following the grievance policy here (URL)" and he also cc'ed HR on the email, which I think is a bit of a violation of privacy.

Where's the violation of privacy? Your Department Head has obviously discussed your email with the HR department. The response you received may well be under their guidance. 

GingerTim

Hoenir said:

mvk0016 said:

When I asked my manager (who is happy with me WFH abroad for 90 days per year) if I could have the policy for our Department somewhere officially stated in writing (company intranet where the policies are stored, or official department announcement) I was sent an email with the grievance policy and "Following up from our conversation about clarity on the relocation policy, you can submit your complaint following the grievance policy here (URL)" and he also cc'ed HR on the email, which I think is a bit of a violation of privacy.

Where's the violation of privacy? Your Department Head has obviously discussed your email with the HR department. The response you received may well be under their guidance. 

Almost certainly under their guidance, I'd say.

robatwork

Interesting topic even with your slightly chaotic OP.

Can you refer to the right to 90 days "Legally" as I am not aware of them.

You may need to do something proactive for your company to allow this, such as setting yourself up as a contractor rather than an employee. You'll lose lots of employee rights, but it will be easier for your company to just use you as an invoicing contractor.