ADVICE: Employment Law, business relocating miles away, eligable for redundancy?

[CornishTeaTime]

DF worked for same company 20 years.
Buses it to work as quite local plus no car.
Relocating business to a different area, quite a few miles away in the Summer and have had a joint meeting to tell everyone. Even with a car its a fair distance

There's no noway can they get there.
Can friend claim dor redundancy or any form of payout?

It depends how far it is from the original location

When I worked somewhere our contract said we had to be prepared to work at any office within 14 miles of the current place of work. As he checked what his says?

There is normally a defined "reasonable" distance for relocation as part of the consultation. There may be an offer of transitional payments to cover extra cost and travel time.

So original contract is 20 years old, business has been a take since then with nothing reissued so would the original contract still stand?

It will depend on what the contract or handbook says about mobility, how long it will take to travel to the new location and what assistance they are putting in place.

Yes, he qualifies for redundancy if his contract specifies the original site. His personal circumstances mean he can’t make the change to the new location.
(Former union rep, done lots of these)

Another thing is, she's a driver and so early starts but existing depot meant manageable to get to but the new place not so easy as no transport links

If she had a car, could she get there? What would her commute be, at off peak hours?

Is there likely to be another opportunity closer to home for her? Because any redundancy payment won’t last forever and it may be better to talk to them about a relocation payment or advance on salary so she can buy a car and keep the job.

You've not said how far apart the two locations are, and that's one of the most important things when considering if the move is "reasonable".

I had this in a previous job. The office moved from a business park with parking to busy city location which was a total pain on public transport and no parking. My commute went from a 15 min drive to 1hr 20 mins. Distance of about 10 miles from the original location and no one got an offer of redundancy.

How far in miles is the move ?

Is the company offering any transport costs for people who travel to the new office for a certain time period eg 1 year ?

Is the company offering redundancy or enhanced redundancy?

https://www.gov.uk/redundancy-your-rights

What is the exact distance between the 2 offices ?
Has the company actually offered redundancy?

Because if the move is under 30 miles away, I believe that it is classed as still acceptable to access

Are there bus & train links ?

They have said they arent discussing anything more till April - the move is the 'summer'.

The distance is around 13 miles.

13 miles seems pretty reasonable TBH (not sure if that is 13 miles in total for your friend or 13 miles from the existing workplace)

13 miles from current location that she can get to easily and has done so for over 20 years.

My employer (major corporate) won’t offer redundancy for any commute under 90 minutes each way (quickest mode of travel). I guess that holds water legally so would be surprised if you could insist on anything for a move of 14 miles.

I would suggest that your DF gets her CV ready & starts applying for local jobs ASAP

Or she investigates modes of transport to the new address.

The new address is not an unreasonable distance to travel.

In my experience travel costs have only been provided if the distance from old to new office was more than 30 miles.

Some of my colleagues were relocated 200 miles away & they were offered the same job or redundancy, however the distance was not commutablable on a daily basis.
There was a small relocation package for those who actually moved property to the new location.

Your DFs job is not going, so I do not think that she will be eligible for redundancy

It is an office relocation

I was under the impression that that 60 minutes is classed as reasonable commute

so she ether leaves with nothing or travels

Yes, less than 30 miles is deemed as reasonable so no redundancy.

If they’ve chosen a place with no transport links then surely she won’t be the only person who will struggle to get there? Has she asked them what their plan is?

in any event, companies are always looking for drivers so she shouldn’t have any trouble finding a new role. She could try putting in a claim for constructive dismissal by redundancy after she’s left and see if she can get a settlement.