Hi
I wondered whether any of you can please help me.
I work for a large public sector department and have been temporarily promoted since April 2008 just prior to my bc diagnosis (Sept 08.
For the majority of my time i worked out of an office in another department near to my home and whenever they required me to travel to the London office they paid for me. This has been going on for 5.5 years.
They have now decided that this can no longer happen and i will now have to pay for my own travel at least twice a week to London, a minimum of £70 each day from research i have done and i cannot pysically afford to do this.
I am out of my mind with worry…if something occurs for so long can it be challenged as a “given” - an implied term and condition of employment - i would NEVER have agreed to go and work for this department in London all those years ago if i thought this would happen… i cannot afford it…
I am not a lawyer or anything like that, the info here is worth exactly what you have paid for it!
Are you in a union? they will probably be able to help, and would normally be familiar with your terms and conditions.
I am more familiar with the tax position. If you are regularly in a location, that can be deemed a regular place of work. typically t is a regular place of work if people can expect to find you there, especially if you work regular days in a location (eg every tuesday). Other indicators that it is a regular place of work are that you have a desk or other facilities allocated to you there.
If you are paid expenses to a regular place of work, they are subject to income tax.
I would directly ask about why the change in their position on payment of the expenses. Reading between the lines I have a suspicion they may consider your place of work to be London, and that working “occasionally” out of a local office is permitted as a favour to you. If that is the case, their position will probably be that they have paid expenses to your new place of work for a while, and it is now your responsibility. If that is the case they should have made it clear that payment for travel was temporary rather than a permanent arrangement.
My regular place of work is this office near my home in the Midlands, i am not paid expenses to travel there, only when i have been travelling to London office (which was infrequently, but ironically they now want me there at least twice a week…
Reason for the change:
I also receive a local pay allowance (LPA) of £4k for working for a HQ dept in London, they say that other staff members receive either the £4k or travel not both as i have been.
To which i responded that i would never have agreed to go to work for this dept in London if that was the case - i have been receving both for 5.5 years i was never told there would be atime limit to this arrangement.
These other members of staff joined the group long after me and were recruited externally and have the benefit of being able to negotiate their startign salary plus would not have agreed if they weren’t happy. They had a choice bascially to accept travel or LPA.
Hi, can anyone help me, please? I am currently on long term sick from the garden centre where I have worked for 24 years. My SSP stops in October. What are my rights after that? Are my employers obliged, legally, to offer me anything for instance severence?
Carol
When SSP stops you should be provided with an SSP1 form so that you can then apply for ESA. My wife Vicky is still technically employed but hasn’t received a wage for 8 months now, she had to call the number for Job Centre Plus (if I remember correctly) and they’ll fill most of the form in over the phone.
BlondeBird - Presumably, the clue to the reason for the change is in your first line. You work for a “public sector department”. They are looking for ways to cut expenses and have decided you are a target. I daresay the legal case will be in their favour. You could ask the CAB where you stand. What does it say in your contract? Probably, that they can move your place of employment if they choose. That happened to me, albeit not at a public section dept and I received no compensation because it was just within the distance allowable, even though it cost me more in fuel and time.