Advice required regards employment situation rights - location of work

Mistermeaner

How so , as in what can they do other than fire me ? 

Altior

Travelling on work time is very generous indeed, and it sounds like overnight accommodation on the business.  

It often happens that people make concessions that they don't really like, to keep their job. New management come in, and the original commitments get, shall we say thinned out. Especially verbal ones, and the person who made them is no longer in the business to verify them. 

I was a middle manager myself, and the person I reported to for several years was a really strong friend of mine, in and out of the workplace. I supported him immensely in his role (beyond the call of duty), but I could practically do whatever I wanted, he would always have my back. He emigrated to the other side of the world, then those freedoms I enjoyed were effectively gone overnight. 

If you met the objectives set by this new manager, how many more days over each fortnight would you have to do 'on location' ? What is your expectation for in person attendance of the people that report to you ?

Aside from those questions, underlying it is an agreement to be working in person, in a location that was a three hour commute away. So the prospect of that being a stumbling block at some point in the future, was reasonably strong. 

lincroft1710

Mistermeaner said:

How so , as in what can they do other than fire me ? 

Do you really want to be dismissed?

LightFlare

Hi lincroft1710 said:

Mistermeaner said:

How so , as in what can they do other than fire me ? 

Do you really want to be dismissed?

I get the impression that the answer is “yes” in the expectation that there will also be some level of payout associated with said dismissal.

Hoenir

LightFlare said:

Hi lincroft1710 said:

Mistermeaner said:

How so , as in what can they do other than fire me ? 

Do you really want to be dismissed?

I get the impression that the answer is “yes” in the expectation that there will also be some level of payout associated with said dismissal.

US companies in my personal experience have no hesitation in doing whatever is neccessary. Getting embroiled in a "dispute" ties up a lot of management time and requires considerable external professional HR advice.  All at considerable cost. 

Alfrescodave

LightFlare said:

Mistermeaner said:

Thanks again everyone for input, going to see if I can broker a compromise through all this to keep mr xyz happy without creating a stink but ultimately my family life and time at home is too important to me to concede to doing more than 2 nights away every fortnight. I will also not be getting up stupid early to travel 3 hours in my own time before 9am or likewise driving home at 9pm at night

if this position is ultimately not acceptable to the company I think there’s enough noise around this and ambiguity in my contract to make firing me expensive which I’ll take. I’ll also very quickly go off sick with stress and highlight the impact this has on my heart condition. I’m quite happy to play that game 

if anything interesting happens I’ll come back and update in case anyone is interested

thanks 

could be a "dangerous" game to play imo

Depends how the "game" is played. Confrontational and agressive at the start may not be the best opening move but a more exploratory discussion might give both sides a more acceptable compromising outcome.  
OP, I'm not telling you how to approach this situation just my personal thoughts.  Let us know how you progress

squirrelpie

As already mentioned, I think your boss's attitude is important. And who/where is your 'opponent's boss? Are your employers aware of your heart issue? And have they made any allowances?

Cromwell77

Mistermeaner said:

Thanks again everyone for input, going to see if I can broker a compromise through all this to keep mr xyz happy without creating a stink but ultimately my family life and time at home is too important to me to concede to doing more than 2 nights away every fortnight. I will also not be getting up stupid early to travel 3 hours in my own time before 9am or likewise driving home at 9pm at night

if this position is ultimately not acceptable to the company I think there’s enough noise around this and ambiguity in my contract to make firing me expensive which I’ll take. I’ll also very quickly go off sick with stress and highlight the impact this has on my heart condition. I’m quite happy to play that game 

if anything interesting happens I’ll come back and update in case anyone is interested

thanks 

If this is your view just resign now and keep your morals intact. People who plan to play sickness games are absolute wrong uns as this effect people who are genuinely poorly is unfair and wrong. This is action I expect from one of my teenagers not a middle management executive in her 40’s. 

Undervalued

Mistermeaner said:

How so , as in what can they do other than fire me ? 

Nobody can stop any employer from firing somebody if they are so minded. The best an employment tribunal can do, many months down the line and after no end of grief, is to order them to pay some compensation. Generally that is far less than most people fondly imagine!

Mistermeaner

Cromwell77 said:

Mistermeaner said:

if this position is ultimately not acceptable to the company I think there’s enough noise around this and ambiguity in my contract to make firing me expensive which I’ll take. I’ll also very quickly go off sick with stress and highlight the impact this has on my heart condition. I’m quite happy to play that game 

If this is your view just resign now and keep your morals intact. People who plan to play sickness games are absolute wrong uns as this effect people who are genuinely poorly is unfair and wrong. This is action I expect from one of my teenagers not a middle management executive in her 40’s. 

Strange attitude to work IMO - every employees objective should be to get as much money as possible from their employer at the least cost (generally time) possible; why on earth would anyone do anything else?

It doesn't mean acting like a complete richard all the time as  short and long term this would likely be detrimental to your money making prospects but folk should absolutely recognise the game for what it is and exploit the rules to their advantage.