Being made to work an extra 20 minutes unpaid a day

[GettingTiredNow]

I work in the admin base of the local NHS health authority, there are about 100 of us in our offices and nowhere near that number of car parking spaces. We double park which is ok but as more people have joined the organisation recently even that is not enough on some days. The powers that be have rented 10 additional spaces at the railway station down the road about a 10 minute walk away.

These 10 parking spaces have been allocated randomly to staff on a rota, each directorate is doing its own thing so you can end up with either a week there every 6 months or 3 months there as a one off. And I'm 1 of the lucky 10 who have been blessed with a pass

Us lucky 10 have been told that the time it takes us to travel back and forth to the car park needs to come out of our time and not the organisations. If we are late we need to email our boss with an expanation of how the time will be made back up.

I need to take my DC to school in the morning and the afternoon which fits within my working hours but a trip back and forth to the car park means I'm going to be early to school in the morning and late to pick up in the afternoon to ensure I'm at work for my contracted time.

AIBU to expect that as I am effectively helping the organisation out by walking down to the car park this shouldn't come out of my time?

Yabu

Ask for an exception due to school run issues but you won't be the only one

Lots of people have to be at work before their actual start time, in a job in a call centre I had to start at 9, ready to take calls, but it took 10 minutes to log in to everything. Just tough I'm afraid.

Really?

I get that it's a pain, OP, but YABU. As a comparison, your employer could legally change your work base (following consultation) if they wanted to. That could mean a longer commute, and no employer would ever reduce the number of hours of work required to compensate for that.

Perhaps you could apply for flexible working to start 10 mins later and finish 10 minutes sooner. Presuming you earn £10 an hour and work 5 days a week your gross pay will reduce by £780.

Personally I'd prefer the ten minute walk.

Oh come on, can't people see why the op is frustrated? Yes, lots of people have no luxury of free parking spaces and some people have to walk 16 miles in bare feet over broken glass to work bla bla - it's not a race to the bottom, is it?

The op has had car parking onsite for years, which she has planned her routine/commute/childcare around. She's suddenly been asked to add 20 minutes to that and park elsewhere - which is a PITA, or potentially impossible.

There should be something in place for people who will really struggle with the extra time or distance op. At my work, exceptions have been made for those with caring responsibilities, pregnant workers, one who had a phobia of buses (think that one was made up!), people with injuries or disabilities etc.

It shouldn't be a sudden blanket policy for all IMO and there should be an exception you can request.

Of course she can be annoyed but she's not "being asked to work an extra 20 minutes unpaid".

I understand the op's frustration but I don't think she's worded it very well.

If she's going to be unable to pick up from school ontime because of it, that's a real problem and one that she may not be able to 'just deal with' - that's what I would be focused on.

You're being ridiculous.

Bloody hell.

My DP is an NHS manager and this is why he's on the verge of a breakdown trying to manage staff who live in cloud cuckoo land.

Fwiw he's very senior yet has to pay £1.50 a day to park at his place of work. If he wants to avoid paying he parks further away and walks in. He factors in the extra time, which to be honest doesn't make much difference as he works pretty much 0700-1800 each day.

Sounds like I'm going to have to accept IABU and suck it up then. I wish my name hadn't been chosen for this space as my life is so finely balanced as it is, this is an extra stress I could do without. Thank you to the posters who saw why I was feeling frustrated.

Op your logic is bizare. If you dont want to park in the provided car park then pay for a private one. like thousands of other people have to

Do none of the other 90 staff want to swap with you?

Look, if you really can no longer manage school run, you need to talk to your manager about whether they can agree any kind of flexible working arrangement: for example, you could take some work home, take shorter lunch break, or reduce your hours and take a pay cut.

But FFS don't tell your manager that your commute should count as part of your working hours. You will sound like an entitled loon and lose all credibility.

I can't have sympathy with this I'm afraid because I have to pay £3 per hour or part thereof plus congestion charge every time I go to work because there is no facility for me to pay it back, or get staff parking, because I work on the staff bank and not on a substantive contract. I can't get public transport in, because I work in community and have to drive for the job. So really, I kind of think you either need to find someone to swap with, or just suck it up.

You could buy a skateboard? Or wear wheelies?
HTH.

Can't you offer your pass to someone else and pay to use the other car park?

You can't expect to be paid to get to and from your car, though!

someday yes I understand it's frustrating. I used to moan about my walk from the offside car park in pissing rain every day

BUT work provided off site parking. I could have had to locate somewhere on an largely industrial site covered in double yellow lines for lorrys or parked in the city and bussed it in.
It's a bit entitled to expect work to provide you with parking at the door in this working day and age. Op isn't being asked to work 20mins unpaid she's being asked to park in a free space which she feels is inconvienievlnt. This is something most deal with and need to suck it up. Or look for another job which I did

YABU.

If you don't like the arrangements, which are part of many other people's lives, then find another job.

I have someone in my team like this and it drives me mad.

Every minute counted, everything has to be straightforward or she wants time back. She would think exactly the same as you and expect 20 minutes off her working day.

The company are providing parking. Take it or don't, but you aren't doing 20 minutes overtime. That's ridiculous.

Do you have anyone at work who will be parking close who could pick you up from your car?

but you're not working
where I work, loads of access is cut off at the moment for building work. It adds about 10 mins walk each way. We just have to put up with it, we're not working extra, we're walking extra!

If you dont want to park in the provided car park then pay for a private one

It seems to me that the op's main issue is time, not money.

At my workplace, there is no other nearby private carpark - the nearest would be the one that work ask people to use on rota, which is too far for me to be able to drop of dc and get to work on time.

Don't let it go op - just ask. Explain that you will be late to pick your dc up in the afternoon and see if someone else can be given the pass, for whom it wouldn't be as difficult.

To add- if it messes up childcare then of course that's not unreasonable to ask for a swap and if it's boss-allocated then they can just reallocate! So still not much sympathy because unless they've actually already said no, this is just unnecessary drama

Unless you are guaranteed an on site space as park of your contract YABU. Sorry OP but you sound very entitled.