MSE News: Bad weather chaos: your pay and travel rights

dudenstumpy wrote: »

[QUOTE
when I initially set off there was only a flurry of snow, 20 mins later it was bedlam.

After driving for 20 minutes you were probably well into your 10 mile journey. Once it became evident that the Bedlam might cause you to let down your employer, could you have parked your car and walked the rest of the way ?

I last did this ( abandoning my car due to snow and walking the rest of the way to work ) in March 2006.[/QUOTE]

I was probably about 100 yards from my place of work, as the crow flies but I was on the M27 and if it hadn't been for idiots abandoning their cars on and across the slip road it wouldn't have been blocked for 14 hours. I cant understand people abandoning cars in these circumstances and causing chaos to everyone else. I hope they get towed and suitably billed for their selfish actions.

It was you that stated you "abandoned" your car in 2006. Parking up, in as safe a place as possible, and abandoning your journey is different to just leaving it on a motorway junction.

Anyway better go as I have work tonight, should be ok, leaving a bit earlier, wouldn't want to let my employer down for the 2nd time in 30 years !!

Can anyone advise me where I stand?

I am a freelance worker paid by the hour with no entitlement to annual leave or sick pay. It takes me just less than an hour on the train into London from Bedfordshire, and a further 10 minutes to half-hour (depending on which building I am working at) on the Tube.

One day last week, I turned up at my National Rail station to find there were no trains in either direction. The official advice from the Train Operating Company was that passengers should not travel. After waiting 90 minutes, I decided to abandon the journey and went home.

I lost nearly £150 in pay for that day because I could not report for work. The train is the only way for me to get to work as I do not have access to a car, and according to Transport Direct I might be able to get to work on time (with three minutes to spare) if I leave at 06:15, change buses twice (with a total of 29 minutes walking and only a buffer of 3 minutes between one change so if the first bus is late I will potentially miss the second).

My question is, can I claim the missing pay back from the Train Operating Company? They advertised a service (through their timetable), could not deliver it and then, crucially, told people not to attempt to travel. Surely under these circumstances at least some compensation (other than a refund on the ticket) should be forthcoming?

Hintza wrote: »

Do you honestly think you have a chance? If they were liable for everyone that was due to travel that day they would now be out of business.

You should have anticipated the weather and either rearranged or travelled into London the day before.

But not everyone would claim: most people (the majority of people on full-time contracts) wouldn't lose pay as their employer would understand the situation, and they could prove they did everything they could to attempt to get in, like I did.

I don't particularly care if they have to pay out a lot of compensation or not: it was THEIR decision to not run any trains or replacement buses, THEIR decision to tell people not to travel and ultimate THEIR decision which caused me to lose a day's pay.

Of course I anticipated the weather but there was no way I could anticipate there being no London-bound trains (or even replacement buses) for over 3 hours (normally one every 7 to 10 minutes at peak time). I could have travelled to London the night before, but then we would be having the same conversation but claiming compensation for the hotel, not a day's pay...