New manager want me in the office. I wfh-help!

Once a month is a very reasonable request when your contract stated you should be in the office.

Presumably you knew where the office was when you took the job, or has it relocated? In which case that’s different matter

After WFH for 2.5yrs I was asked to go back into the office on a hybrid pattern but having seen that the grass was greener, I early retired instead.

Heh.

But this is a cautionary tale for organisations, really. You can stop an employee from working remotely/hybrid. That doesn't mean you'll have an employee who's willing to do the office hours you want.

I think it's vital that OP gets advice from an employment solicitor, but also part of the equation here is essentially how much power she has. If she'd be hard to replace at the salary she's at, she potentially has more leeway than she would in a sector where there's lots of competition for jobs.

Lots of posts talking about pre covid and post covid - but for you @Stressedgiraffe that’s irrelevant because you have always WFH. Not the same situation at all!

As your contract says HQ, WFH is just a bonus and it just so happens that you haven't been asked back to the office. When I did 'hybrid working' part of it was that we were within a 30 mile radius of HQ, in the event we were asked in. I was never asked in, over the 2 years however some teams were in more frequent.
You need to have the discussion with them and see what they suggest.

Speak to HR and ask to be based 100% at home. Are you in a union? What sector is it?

Was this talked about when you accepted the job? I would’ve asked for it to be in my contract from then.

We have a few employees who work permanently from home, various reasons. If you are in a caring role, I think they might get thrown under the bus if they force you to the office when there’s no real need.

Have a look at custom and practice implied terms. If you have always wfh in that role then by doing so for the duration of your employment it is an implied term of your contract that you wfg, regardless of what your contract actually states. I would recommend speaking to ACAS for further advice. Good luck.

Surely as you were hired on a WFH basis this should be in your contract - if they hired you and it was agreed at the time you would stay living five hours away and WFH then imo it’s an error in your contract because you quite clearly WFH permanently and always have done!!! I would raise it in this sense. Get some legal advice; the fact you’ve always worked from home and they knew this when you signed your contract might change where you stand. If she wants someone in office so regularly and you’ve never done this it suggests to me that actually she needs to change roles round in her team.

An ex-colleague of mine (government but law based) decided to move from SE London up north (buy a house) over Covid, yet she was expected in some days. Guess who turned on the waterworks when she was asked to go in? She expected she'd be allowed to WFH even from a much further distance.

Move to Work section. HR law should also deal with this. Lots of companies do want people in more than once a month.

This is really common now.

During COVID, many firms allowed a sort of free-for-all and some people took jobs that previously they would not have considered (due to location) but times are changing and many firms want to return to how it was before.
I know it seems to make no sense but if your contract says office based then you may have a hard time getting them to back down.
This is where union membership comes in handy.

After WFH for 2.5yrs I was asked to go back into the office on a hybrid pattern but having seen that the grass was greener, I early retired instead.

Call ACAS - I’d argue your contract has been changed to WFH through custom & practice but I am not a lawyer, or HR bod - and I doubt anyone else who has answered so far is either! You could move this to work which does have several HR people who answer queries.

I can understand a new manager wanting to get to grips with her team, build relationships and see how people are doing etc and I can also see that being a harder task if everyone is wfh. But that being said, I don't think it's impossible. I'd ask for a meeting with her, explain your circumstances and ask if there's anything she's concerned about regarding your performance or if this is about building relationships etc in which case I'd suggest scheduling regular meetings online where you can update her on your work and she can address any concerns or queries she might have? Failing that, I'd request either a bonus or expenses paid to cover your travel, food and accommodation for the days you're going to have to be in the office. Work out the costs in advance so you know if a bonus will cover this or not.

In the meantime I'd join a union and send them a copy of your contract so they can advise and represent you if it comes to that.

Ultimately I think if you join a workplace knowing you're contractually obliged to be in the office physically and you live too far away to commute, then you've left yourself in a tricky position. I think you need to renegotiate your contract but I'd want union representation for that.

@Stressedgiraffe Also, when you applied for the job what was the advertised position....was it office based or working from home?

Why did you apply for the job if the contract didn't say wfh? I'd go in once a month or look for another job.

Are you in a union, or does your home insurance cover any legal costs? You need advice from an employment solicitor as to whether there's been an implied change in terms and conditions through custom and practice, before you do anything else.

@Stressedgiraffe When you started working there 2 years ago what was the communicated working position? They recruited you knowing you worked 5 hours away so there couldnt have been the expectation you would be in a commutable distance from the office.

Your contract may say your HQ is your designated office but if you have something to say you can work from home and can show they knew your distance from the office was 5 hours then i dont think they can enforce you coming in. I could be wrong but i would be doubtful it would stand up if you went to tribunal if you could sho / prove the above.

I think you’ll need to do the sums. If you cannot afford to lose this job then you cannot afford not to go in at least once a month.

Start job hunting ASAP.

If you're contract states your place of work as HQ you're on a sticky wicket. I would try and come to a compromise agreement.

I'd push back. 2 years of WFH is a change in contract, regardless of what your manager thinks. How big is your company? Might be worth trying to speak to other colleagues in the same position (if any) to agree a common position.

Are you a registered carer for your DH? If you are could that be used as a reasonable adjustment for you to continue WFH?

What’s the business rationale?

Once a month is pretty generous but I wouldn’t imagine they will pay your travel or accommodation if your contract says you’re based there unfortunately

Unless you are contracted to wfh then you have no choice but to go to the office when they say you need too. They would be fully in their rights to sack you if you refused to do so!

I think you posted about this a little while ago didn't you- did you end up going to the team event day thingy in the end?

Have to say, it doesn't sound like this issue is going to go away anytime soon, you probably need to get an arrangement sorted and documented.