TOIL/working outside of regular hours/away from home

[Firedemon]

Hoping for others experiences and advice please!

I work in a fairly junior office based role for a company. The company needs to be present at various events across the U.K. and the nature of my role means that although it's not part of my job description, I am probably one of the most suitable representatives for the company at these events.

When working these events (they are always over the weekend and our office working days are Monday-Friday) I get off a day in lieu. I don't mind this if the event isn't too far away from home (if the event lasts longer than the standard 8 hour day I get the extra hours as time off in lieu too) and my travel/food expenses are also covered, as they should be!

My issue is with events that require overnight stays away from home. Not only am I away from home comforts and have the hassle of packing/unpacking and travel etc but it impacts my life in other ways too. I have a partner and two dogs so if I'm away then we have to juggle things around by leaving the dogs with family or paying a dog walker to visit them (my partner works every other weekend) and also I just miss him! We share a vehicle too so if I drive this to the event he has to use public transport. Sometimes driving is necessary to take business related items to the venue and be honest it's just a pain in the arse having to change up my routine to accommodate the events.

It doesn't feel as though I'm being adequately compensated for these events at all. They are hard work and revolve around talking to people all day which, as an introvert, I find pretty exhausting.

What do other people get if they do things like this?
How can I negotiate better terms for myself?

Another office worker also does lots of these events but she is also on a considerably higher wage than me so seems very happy to do them.

I have an event coming up which requires an overnight stay soon and I'd like to make my stance clear on this in a way that's not going to piss any of the 'higher ups' in the office off

[flowery]

You miss home comforts
You find packing a hassle
Your partner can't look after the dog because of his work
You only have one car so your partner has to use public transport
You miss your partner
You are an introvert and don't like talking to people all day
You don't like changing your routine

What you are doing is making the very common mistake of thinking your own personal preferences when it comes to the work you like doing and your own home circumstances are relevant. They aren't. Those things are personal factors you need to take into account when deciding whether you want to stay in your job or look for something more suitable. They are not factors your employer should take into account when deciding on a suitable salary for the role you are doing. Your employer would and should pay exactly the same salary to an extrovert who loves travel and talking to people and has no dog/partner to worry about as they would to you.

That's not to say you shouldn't renegotiate your salary, but base it on things like the responsibility level you have, the going rate for similar roles, an increase in responsibility (assuming this is all new to the role rather than something which was in it from the beginning) since your last salary review, that type of thing.

People don't and shouldn't get paid according to how much they dislike elements of their job. If you don't like the job, look for one which is more routine-based and doesn't involve these elements.

If you enjoy the rest of your job and could put up with these things if you were paid more, then renegotiate, based on responsibility level/value added/market rate, then depending on how you get on, make a decision about whether the new salary is adequate to make you feel comfortable with the job you are employed to do.

[CMOTDibbler]

I attend events for work, in the Uk and overseas. We don't get recompensed for any expenses incurred as a side effect of this - child or pet care for instance, and don't officially get time back for working on weekends/bank holidays or extra time incurred (my new boss has just told the team that we are to take days in lieu for weekend/holiday working, but this is not official)

Its part of the job, and you either get on with it or not tbh

[JaxingJump]

Your personal circumstances are your concern. It's not usual to be compensated for overnight stays beyond your food and board which is a very suitable alternative to home.

[Gizlotsmum]

Could you ask for a hire car for these events? Removes one of the issues. Unfortunately I think you just have to suck the rest up. I assume they pay your accommodation costs?

[Cutesbabasmummy]

I work every Monday evening at meetings from 6pm until its finished and every third Tuesday too, plus some ad hoc meetings. I get TOIL. I have a 2 year old at home and a husband who doesn't get home until 6.45pm so my parents have to look after my son until then. My pint is that my employers don't care about this - its not their problem. They employ me to do my job, that's it. Maybe you need to look for a new job?

[Tubbybells]

2nd hire car - do you currently have business use on your insurance? If not you need to look into this.

[tammytheterminator]

I third the hire car.

I also agree with what has been written above. Have a long hard think about whether this job is right for you. A night away for work once a year is one thing but if you need to do it all the time you really have to enjoy being away. It wouldn't suit me so totally understand how you feel!