Travelling 4 hours there and 4 hours back to get to work

I would travel time counts as work time, at least part of it. Don't leave at a crazy hour, leave at say 7am and arrive there mid-morning / lunch time. Make sure all meetings are planned for that afternoon/evening/morning the following day. Leave after lunch/some time in the afternoon the next day? Is it at all possible? Would they not pay 2 nights at a hotel ?

Indeed or change their job!!

As long as they are paying for travel and hotel, perfectly reasonable.

I would arrive the night before but would make sure to leave the office fairly early not to arrive at the hotel ridiculously late.

I do this fairly often. I live in North Wales, office is in London. I drive down after work the niht before, sleep in a hotel, head into the office for the day and drive home after. It's a long couple of days. I try to leave work a bit early to compensate a little but bsically it's just what it is!

Stay the night before. It's really very normal and could even be enjoyable. Arriving somewhere at 9.30pm is not a big deal.

Given the length of the journey home I would expect to be able to leave early so that you are not getting home quite so late. What time do the meetings go on until? If you left at 3.30 you would be home at a more reasonable hour.

I regularly do 3 hours each way into the office. Personally, I leave at 6am, get there for 9am, leave at 5-6pm and get home for 8-9pm.

But if they are paying for your travel and a hotel (!!) - that's amazing - my work would never actually pay for me to come into our head office 😂I'd go up the night before and come home late. You'll be home in time for a shower and to go to bed, which is fine.

Are the meetings already scheduled? (You've said you need to be there for 9am so I'm assuming stuff is booked in?)

If so, what time do they finish?

I'd typically prefer to travel up the night before but leave before the end of the working day, stay overnight, meetings the next day and finish early afternoon to head home.

I'd use the journey mostly to get work done and then finish early on Friday.

How are you travelling? By car or train?

It sounds totally normal, go the night before and travel back when you finish work.

My daughter does a similar journey twice a week at the moment and leaves home just after 5 and gets back at about 9. She says that she enjoys the train journey - she prebooks the same seat each time, which is one of two seats on its own, tucked away at the end of the carriage, and she is usually able to get a lot of work done. Because she has to be in the office on Tuesdays and Thursdays it's not practical for her to stay overnight. My daughter accepted the job knowing that she would have a very long journey for two days per week and be in the office from 9-5, and travels in her own time quite happily.

I do something like this 3 times a year. I go for a 2 day visit, so i get up at 5am to get a very early train to get to the office by about 9.45 the first day, then i finish at normal time, stay in a hotel, and on the next day i finish at 4pm to get the train back

I am quite senior though (deputy head of the department) and its just a part of the job.

DH has similar. We both know it means a couple of days where we cover for each other in terms of the childcare pick ups and drop offs.

It really depends on the office/team/company expectations, eh?

I’ve done this loads, as I live a similar distance away from London, but my industry is fairly relaxed on start times - almost no one would book an in-person office meeting pre 10am - and I’m an established member of the team so I can work on the train and turn up whenever if there’s no external time constraints. If there’s a conference with a fixed start time though, or an important presentation etc, then it’s hotel the night before to ensure getting there on time. Sometimes I do it all in a day. Depends.

I travel down the morning before 8:30 train, work on the train, arrive in London around 12 noon. Dump my work stuff at the hotel, then take the afternoon as Flexi leave and enjoy the city for the afternoon/evening. As a dispersed team we all travel quite a distance so our meeting is normally finished at 15:30 and get home around 20:30.

I used to travel in work time the afternoon before, so you are free in the evening to relax, have something to eat and a good night's sleep before the day ahead. Even if work was not paying for that nights hotel, I would still do it as it's much more relaxing, no worry of train delays, etc

Do you have childcare issues that restrict your travelling times ?

It would be ok for a one off or very occasionally day, maybe 3 times a year, provided you travel the after before and stay overnight.

Do it night before but as it's a work trip can't you leave at 3ish? And same on day of meeting?

I'd leave around 7am on day 1, get there 11am, meetings and office things for the rest of the day, dinner and hotel, and then meetings again in the morning until about 3ish. 1 overnight and about a day and a half worth of office time, but no ridiculously early or late hours.

I do this once a month but my travel is 5-6 hours each way.

I get a half day of toil for each overnight stay.

I always travel the night before as red-eyeing it in the morning means I feel rubbish all day.

My friend does a similar journey once a week and he gets a coach at just after 5am but has to get up at 4.30am. He usually gets home at about midnight. So it's definitely possible to do in a day, he says he's absolutely knackered after it but I guess as it's a one off for you maybe ok?

I do this monthly and leave at 5.30am, do two days in the office, and travel back on the second night. It's a bit crap but it means I get to live in the north and not down south, so I'm happy.

I’d go the night before but see if I could travel on work time ( or leave a bit early) so not arriving so late.

Personally I would rather go down the night before and sleep in a hotel.

Id Go the night before if expected to be there early especially since they're happy with you doing so

Go the night before and visit the office the next day. If you do travel up in the morning surely there isn't really a need for you to arrive bang on 9am, have they specifically said you would need to get there for 9? That seems quite unreasonable