Being relocated against my consent

footstool

I have been working for a company the last 5yrs,& within that time I have been extremely flexible to accommodate the company's needs. I have worked in different branches around the country when needed even without 24hr notice.
Just of recently I was asked to relocate to another branch,2hr commute from where I live,without the agreement of a pay rise or exspenses to accommodate myself with the travelling I will have to do. It's Non-negotiable. I was given time to think it over,& weighing out my options,(I'd be down money) & also having personal commitments to where I live,I told them no I couldn't do it. Now they are telling me I have no choice in the matter! I feel like I am being pushed & bullied into this & fear that if I don't agree I will be cut down hrs or even fired. The hr management have said its in the contract I signed that if requised to relocate I'm obliged to,yet I have already done this for them & as I stated been extremely flexible,going beyond the call of duty.
Any advise on this? I honestly feel I don't owe them anything as I have done so much,unpaid overtime,doing jobs Im not ment to be doing under contract,jumping from branch to branch each week & certain issues in the workplace without any help from upper management or hr. Do I have any rights here? I am not relocating as I stated 7 times to hr but they are not listening.....
Thanks in advance

godtabh

Either accept it or be made redundant it appears. Difficult choice

davo10

If you agreed to those terms in your contract then unfortunately you may have no alternative particularly as, by your own admission, you have done this before. You are unlikely to recieve redundancy as you are not being made redundant, the location of your job is being altered as per your contract but your job is still there with no reduction in pay etc.

BreadnBuddha

Sounds like you're either being held to the terms of your contract in line with a business need, or being managed out the door via a contracted clause. One way or the other, the decision is yours to make on how you handle it. You can try to fight it and deal with all the grief that comes along with that, or take the relocation to keep a paycheck coming in while you find new work. Only you know your own personal circumstances and what's best for you in the long run.

CruelCoin

godtabh wrote: »

Either accept it or be made redundant

I don't think this is a redundancy case?

If its in the contract that the OP must move, and he/she chooses not to, then is it not a simple case of a: move, b: quit or c: be fired for refusing?

Bandana boy

you say 2 hour commute ,what is it in kilometers from your existing office to this new office ?

This is what will determine if it is a redundancy situation.

Will the existing branch stay open ? Will your role change to working for this branch or stay the same but office be in another building ?

CruelCoin

Bandana boy wrote: »

you say 2 hour commute ,what is it in kilometers from your existing office to this new office ?

This is what will determine if it is a redundancy situation.

Will the existing branch stay open ? Will your role change to working for this branch or stay the same but office be in another building ?

Its a redundancy situation if he wasn't covered by contract, but he is.

He's contractually obliged to move.

Diziet

Check what you contract says, but also speak to an employment solicitor. Most contracts have a clause that says you may need to work in another office at the company's discretion, but many also have a max distance. I don't know if there is a 'reasonableness' test somewhere, but a solicitor will be able to advise.

Zillah

Take the move, spend as much work time looking for a new job. Save holidays. Give them two weeks notice and take two weeks holidays, flip the bird on the way out.

Bandana boy

CruelCoin wrote: »

Its a redundancy situation if he wasn't covered by contract, but he is.

He's contractually obliged to move.

I do not believe so , you cannot sign away your rights as covered by Irish Employment law just because it is in a contract .
Otherwise it would just be put in every new contract and we would never see another redundancy

Hoboo

Firstly check your contract for relocation or mobility clause.

If it doesn't have one, ask for redundancy. Failing that a constructive dimissal case is the likely outcome.

If it does have one all is not lost.

Clause or not an employer must act in a reasonable manner. Have a look at the following cases to give you an idea of where you stand. Each has differing scenarios and outcomes, but they'll give you an idea. Read the case outline and findings, that will suffice.

Have a chat to your employer re redundancy, and failing a positive outcome, contact the WRC for advice.......it's free and they'll talk you through it.

https://www.workplacerelations.ie/en/

Conway v Ulster Bank (UD471 1981)

Allied Irish Banks Limited v Lupton (1984)

O'Brien v Dunnes Stores (UD227/2001)

Rob Thomas

If its in your contract, then you probably have little options but you still have a few.

1. If you simply cant move, then you can decide to see this as the opportunity to look for something else and move forward in your career after 5 years in one job. I don't know what your ambitions are or what the opportunities are in your industry/sector but there is always another job/direction.

2. If you truly enjoy working for this company, then you can attempt to convince management of your worth in your existing location and show them in real terms that you are a better option left where you are. You say that you regularly go above and beyond so you must have some added value to emphasise. Its up to you to make them see it. No company worth working for wants unhappy employees. Its up to you to show them your worth and provide the evidence to back this up.

3. You can embrace the change and take the move, who knows where you will be in another 5 years? If you have a desire to work for this particular company and build a career for yourself there, this may be something you have to accept in the short term for longer term gain. The company will see your value and it may help you get back towards home in the near future as opportunities present themselves.

The only option you don't have is to do nothing. If you do that, it sounds like you will be moved anyway and then you will still be in the new location, but the company will view you as someone who does not want to be there. That's lose-lose. So do something. Otherwise you will just fret about the inevitable until it happens.

Clearly, you are a good worker, one the company should value if they are worth their salt. If they are not, please don't value yourself as poorly as they do.

Make the outcome here the best for you based on your own choices. The best of luck to you.

davo10

Bandana boy wrote: »

I do not believe so , you cannot sign away your rights as covered by Irish Employment law just because it is in a contract .
Otherwise it would just be put in every new contract and we would never see another redundancy

Where in employment law does it say a company cannot insert a clause regarding working at different/multiple locations? Employment law regarding commute/redundancy may apply if the op hadn't agreed to it in his/her contract.

I stand to be corrected on this but public service employees can be moved up to 50km to new work locations without having their employment rights infringed.

The title of this thread is wrong/misleading, the op is not being relocated without consent, that consent was, by his/her own admission granted when he/she signed the contract.

footstool

It will 88 km back & forth,as for where I am is only 25km back & forth if even.

footstool

Yes it will stay open,my role will still be the same but in another the branch 88km away from where I'm located.

Stheno

footstool wrote: »

Yes it will stay open,my role will still be the same but in another the branch 88km away from where I'm located.

So 44 km each way, that's within the standards for the public sector to move.

Perhaps talk to an employment law solicitor.

44km is just over thirty miles, so no that far tb

If it's 88km each way that will make a difference

Can you post your general destination/journey?

E.g. Portlaoise to Dublin?

Bandana boy

footstool wrote: »

It will 88 km back & forth,as for where I am is only 25km back & forth if even.

Sorry what is actual distance between the two branches

53Km or 26.5km or 32Km?

if its 26.5Km I think you will have trouble forcing the issue

Manach

My understanding that any such location clause in an employment has to be clearly spelt out. ie Company has to explicately say such a move is covered. If not, then a measure of reasonableness has to be read into any such contract so as both not to make it too far reaching and the general rule of interpreting a clause against the side that made the contract. The upshot would be the OP is likely facing a redundancy situation as the job (in the original location) no longer exists.

footstool

It's 88km to the branch & 88km back to my house,a total of 176km a day!

footstool

Basically I was told if I don't take this move I will be left with no hrs in the other branch,yet the number of staff remain the same with the same amount of hrs which does not make sense.
I feel I'm being bullied into this role & thinking of filing a complaint on harassment grounds. I have been with the branch from the day it opened & seen people come & go on a yearly basis. Surely I have rights here!

Ardent

footstool wrote: »

Basically I was told if I don't take this move I will be left with no hrs in the other branch,yet the number of staff remain the same with the same amount of hrs which does not make sense.
I feel I'm being bullied into this role & thinking of filing a complaint on harassment grounds. I have been with the branch from the day it opened & seen people come & go on a yearly basis. Surely I have rights here!

I don't know what's in your contract but I recommend you dig it out and familiarise yourself with the clause in question. Regardless, your employer is obliged by law to explore all reasonable alternatives to any change to your contract of employment - especially so in the case of termination.

It doesn't sound like you're dealing with reasonable - or even nice - people here. My advice to you is to invoke your company's grievance procedure immediately, air your issues with HR and your line manager, hear what they have to say, and in the meantime get advice from a solicitor who specialises in employment law. You could have a case here for constructive/unfair dismissal.

You can suck it up, you can walk away or you can stand up to these people. I wish you the best of luck with whatever you decide to do.

davo10

Before spouting about entitlements/rights/constructive dismissal/termination etc, op should clarify exactly what th contract clause in question says, everything else is just guesswork without knowing this. If the ops contract specifically outlined that he could be moved to another location as part of the t&cs of employment then it's hard to see a way around that if he/she signed the contract.

davo10

footstool wrote: »

Basically I was told if I don't take this move I will be left with no hrs in the other branch,yet the number of staff remain the same with the same amount of hrs which does not make sense.
I feel I'm being bullied into this role & thinking of filing a complaint on harassment grounds. I have been with the branch from the day it opened & seen people come & go on a yearly basis. Surely I have rights here!

There is the reason for you being moved, they are moving you to another location but not increasing staff numbers (replacing you) nor increasing the hours of those who are still there, this suggests that the employer does not have enough work for you at your current location and contract terms permitting, is moving you to another location where there is a need for you. Your "rights" are laid out in your contract and as long as it complies with employment/contract law then if the company is following the terms of your contract, you are not being harassed, you may have agreed to those terms.

As above, you need to read your contract carefully and if need be, get it checked by a solicitor who specialises in employment law, you can find them easy enough if you google them but you of course will have to foot th bill for this.

Dyr

footstool wrote: »

Basically I was told if I don't take this move I will be left with no hrs in the other branch,yet the number of staff remain the same with the same amount of hrs which does not make sense.
I feel I'm being bullied into this role & thinking of filing a complaint on harassment grounds. I have been with the branch from the day it opened & seen people come & go on a yearly basis. Surely I have rights here!

Harassment has a specific meaning in employment legislation. Talk to a solicitor who specializes in employment law about your situation

Arbiter of Good Taste

footstool wrote: »

It's 88km to the branch & 88km back to my house,a total of 176km a day!

Distance from your home does not matter. It's not the employer's problem where you live. What is the distance fro. Your current branch to your new branch

STB.

Arbiter of Good Taste wrote: »

Distance from your home does not matter. It's not the employer's problem where you live. What is the distance fro. Your current branch to your new branch

Indeed. However, it is the employers problem and responsibility when they move their employees without good reasoning.

How many constructive dismissal cases have been taken and won on these grounds alone. Loads... there is plenty of relevant case law out there already.

blindsider

OP - 88km is an hr each way...? Your '2 hrs commute' phrase was a bit misleading.

An hour's commute is not completely unreasonable.

I would try to negotiate sth. from them though. Pay-rise/extra hols/ bonus or similar.

If this is not an option, it might be time to look for another job.

(The hr management have said its in the contract I signed that if requised to relocate I'm obliged to)

But they want to relocate you 88km away which means you be travelling a total of 176km a day and at your own expense, as others has said read your contract and get legal advice and get it soon, i think they're using your contract of employment as a way to force you to relocate but the hr management uses the word obliged, you're right bullying comes to mind.

davo10

Julien Unsightly Tungsten wrote: »

(The hr management have said its in the contract I signed that if requised to relocate I'm obliged to)

But they want to relocate you 88km away which means you be travelling a total of 176km a day and at your own expense, as others has said read your contract and get legal advice and get it soon, i think they're using your contract of employment as a way to force you to relocate but the hr management uses the word obliged, you're right bullying comes to mind.

While I think op does need advice, I really can't see how applying the terms of the contract the op agreed to, and signed, could be considered bullying. From day one the op was made aware that relocation was a possibility. Also, it really isn't your employer's concern where you live when applying for a job, only that you show up for work as per your contract, some employees could live across the road, some might have to drive an hour to work. Maybe the op has answered this already, is the new location 88km from the current location or from where he lives?

Wanderer78

Neoliberalism woop woop! Best of luck op

Neon_Lights

Will they pay expenses for the change in location, transport, accommodation, subsistence based on your 2hr commute