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AIBU?

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Original poster

To think they should at least pay travel expenses?

95 replies

Fairyliz · 15/02/2017 14:31

My daughter is in her second year of a four year degrees course with the third year being a year in industry.

She is currently applying for placement and the procedure usually goes - complete application form and online test, have a video interview follwed by a full day assesment at the company. As you can imagine this takes a long time but fair enough thats what she wil need to do when applying for jobs.
The problem is if you get to the assessment stage you have to visit the company which could be anywhere in the UK at very short notice meaning rail fares are expensive.
She has just phoned me in tears because she hasn't got the latest job she applied for and after paying out several hundred pounds in travel expenses (for several interviews)she has no money for food.

So do you think these companies should pay travel expenses?

One mean company even had her there for 5 hours and didn't offer a cup of tea!

OP posts:
KnittedBlanketHoles · 15/02/2017 14:32

Yes I think they should offer travel expenses. Has she asked?

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 15/02/2017 14:33

When I did this a few years ago, most did - some won't, the smaller companies definitely didn't, but most of the big graduate schemes had provisions in place. There are usually rules; if you live within a certain distance you can't claim a hotel, you can't claim alcohol, etc, but there's usually a scheme to cover the cheapest viable method of transport. She'd need to look for it though, it's usually mentioned once or twice but that's all. It was used as part of the "fact finding and being autonomous" area of review for the job I did get!

She may be a bit late for the one she's just done but I'd definitely be checking every company going forward before she goes.

QueenMortificado · 15/02/2017 14:34

Has she asked? I remember getting my knickers in a twist in the same scenario and then meekly mentioning it and the guy who interviewed me booming OF COURSE WE WILL

It hadn't entered anyone's mind to tell me and I had really been panicking.

She should keep all her receipts and definitely ask.

Original poster
Fairyliz · 15/02/2017 14:45

Yes she has asked and no none of them do and these are big companies. Do you think she should call them on it on their twitter account?

OP posts:
Original poster
Fairyliz · 15/02/2017 14:47

Yes she has asked and no they don't pay and these are big companies. Do you think she should call them on it on twitter?

OP posts:
witsender · 15/02/2017 14:52

I've been to interviews where they do, and plenty where they don't. So it isn't unusual not to nor is it 'wrong', I'm not sure what she would 'call them' on.

AnchorDownDeepBreath · 15/02/2017 15:09

Who did she interview with?

I wouldn't call them out on Twitter; just incase she ever does decide that she wants to work there. There is a lot of "poaching" on graduate schemes.

Allthebestnamesareused · 15/02/2017 15:35

Definitely would not call them out on Twitter - even if they don't have a work placement available for her at this point in time there is nothing saying that she might not apply to them at some time in the future when she joins the industry!

Surely she wouldn't want to get a reputation as a troublemaker within the industry before she has joined it!

eurochick · 15/02/2017 15:37

Definitely not twitter!

DeterminedToChange · 15/02/2017 15:39

I think she should ask the university if they can help with this. It's very unfair of them to expect her to travel long distance for interviews at her own expense.

Original poster
Fairyliz · 15/02/2017 15:40

The problem is now she has a couple of jobs in the pipeline. If she gets called for interview at the last minute she will have to decline as she has no money for train fares.
Feel so sad for her as she trying so hard

OP posts:
Katy07 · 15/02/2017 15:41

Do you think she should call them on it on twitter?
Absolutely - assuming you don't want her to get a job in future. Hmm Why do people expect to be given everything they want? I'd like a big win on the premium bonds - should I complain on social media? Will they go 'here you are Katy, have a £million on us because you're entitled'?
If she couldn't afford it then she should have checked beforehand rather than just incurring costs. Maybe if she'd been proactive before they'd have been impressed and offered?

K425 · 15/02/2017 15:43

Ideally she should ask whoever's responsible for the work placement - either from the academic side or the uni admin side. she can't be the only person this applies to, and they should have something in place.

wowfudge · 15/02/2017 15:49

If she gets an interview she should request her travel expenses are covered or arrange the interview at a later date to enable her to get a cheaper ticket. She shouldn't turn down the interview without having that conversation first.

Toomuchocolate · 15/02/2017 15:51

Is there no way family members can help her out and she can repay you once she starts earning?

Allthewaves · 15/02/2017 15:56

Can she gets a student overdraft or credit card to cover her I the short term

Idefix · 15/02/2017 16:00

Dd needs to speak to uni, personal tutor and if no joy there student support.

I do think from distant memory that friends in a same situation were expected to pay. But dd may be able to apply for hardship grant.

MollyHuaCha · 15/02/2017 16:03

This happened to me years ago when I went for an interview for my first teaching job 200 miles from my university. The time of the interview meant I had to get an expensive rail ticket. No fares were offered by the school even though it was standard practice that travelling expenses should be refunded. This school just had an unwritten policy that they didn't refund anyone's travelling expenses ever, even though the local authority decreed that they should. When you are looking for a job/new in a job, you are in a vulnerable position and you don't like to draw attention to yourself regarding claiming fares. It's lousy. But the expense continued. I got the job and the school was mostly a nice place to work. But there were frequent inservice courses to attend often beginning in the late afternoon after a day's teaching. Travel expenses for these were never refunded either. Before I got my first salary, I had spent a fortune in renting an apartment plus deposit, deposit for gas/electricity, clothes/shoes for work, equipment for my classroom such as adult scissors, staple gun, pencil sharpeners and glue sticks for the children, posters for the bare walls, gold stars, merit stamps, resources for display as well as all those travelling expenses. And when I eventually received my first salary, some people even asked what I would be 'treating myself to now I had so much money'?! The answer was, beginning to pay back debts to those who I had borrowed from in order to get through the first month.

MrsHathaway · 15/02/2017 16:03

Does she have a railcard?

Has she looked at Megabus? When I was young I was quite blinkered about travel and didn't look at all the options for long distance.

liquidrevolution · 15/02/2017 16:05

Can she get help from the uni emergency fund?

I remember applying on the offchance and getting around £1800 in my final year to help with costs as I was writing my dissertation and couldnt work at the same time. This was 10 years ago now.

Also ask the department if they can help.

Original poster
Fairyliz · 15/02/2017 16:08

Thanks Katy07 that was really helpful!
She doesn't expect to be handed anything on a plate. She has worked very hard spent 4- 5 hours on her application and they have asked her to attend because presumably they think she may have something to offer the business.
Thank you to those posters who have offered useful advice rather than nasty comments. I will get her to speak to uni to see if there arecany funds available.

OP posts:
BarbaraofSeville · 15/02/2017 16:09

Some do pay, more don't in my experience. I've worked for the same employer for 25 years this year and had several interviews before securing my first post here. It was something like 2 out of 6 companies paid travel expenses so it was quite a surprise from those that offered. Incidentally, my employer has now stopped paying travel expenses, so it might be the exception rather than the rule now.

I suppose she should ask the question to the HR people when she is offered the interview, also if it is possible to change times of interviews to allow her to go there and back in one day, or use cheaper trains. Or can she go on the coach, if cheaper, and does she have a student railcard?

But it does seem a bit unfair to have a drawn out recruitment process with several in-person interviews without considering the cost to the candidates. Could you lend her the money if she is really stuck? Otherwise she will be stuck in a catch 22 situation. Or can the Job Centre help any more - do they have any schemes for lending or paying travel expenses - it can't be uncommon for people out of work to not be able to afford travel costs.

Allthebestnamesareused · 15/02/2017 16:12

I don't think there are any nasty comments on here. Advising not to call companies out on Twitter is sensible advice.

wowfudge · 15/02/2017 16:13

OP - I can't see any nasty comments. Some pp has said she shouldn't call out the companies who won't pay expenses on Twitter, but that's hardly nasty. I have found that messaging privately via Facebook is a good way to get a positive response - more responsive people at the companies and they want to prevent anyone going public with anything which could be derogatory.

rightsofwomen · 15/02/2017 16:17

I'd feel that the uni had let my child down if they found themselves in this situation.

Part of the benefit of an industry placement is not just to get experience in that field, but to go through the application process. It seems rather harsh for students not to have been told by tutors that they may incur high travel expenses.

Your daughter has learnt the hard way but it so easily could have been avoided with better guidance ie she could have planned differently, or made informed decisions. Surely companies are really expecting undergraduates to have £££ of disposable income, are they?

nb my son is starting uni this year so maybe I am completely off the mark when it comes to expectations.