To think I have effectively been dismissed?

[Autumnwindinthewillows]

I worked at an office less than 5 mins walk from a major transport hub. The firm then moved to an office with no easily accessible public transport but the arrangement at the time (or so i thought) was that staff with cars would pick me up from the old office. With staff changes this is no longer happening and I cannot get to work without an hour long journey on public transport plus a 1.5 mile walk which is not feasible.

The bosses have basically reneged on the deal and said it is my problem so it would seem i am out of a job. Can I claim constructive dismissal?

Iirc op has less than 2 years' service so redundancy does not apply. The role still exists but she does not wish to fund the taxi to bridge the gap to get there. The contract may also have had a mobility clause.

You can't simply not go in, so pay for a taxi and get a meeting with your boss and say that the refusal of lifts now makes it financially unviable for you to work there so you need to come to a compromise I.e. A few days working at home per week.

Many employers' response that will be "OK, you can work your notice, or you can leave at the end of the week if you'd like."

I think (lawyers correct me please!), your disability abd reasonable adjustments trump everything.

Approach your boss in writing, nicely... Saying that your disability prevents you from getting to work at a decent time now the office has moved and you remain committed to the company ... So your problen solving solution is to work from home on x days. And then set out how it will benefit the company.

The OP has mentioned the disability? It might not be a physical disability.

I don't think the OP will be back.

I think (lawyers correct me please!), your disability abd reasonable adjustments trump everything.

This is a common misconception. Disability does not 'trump' everything and I am afraid people with disabilities can, and do, lose their jobs as a result. A lot hinges on the definition of 'reasonable'. Things like the size/resources of the employer and the effectiveness of any adjustments will be considered. It is impossible to state in the OPs case. The first step needs to be a calm discussion with the employer about this - there may well be ways forward, without knowing the nature of the disability it is impossible to say.

I suspect that the office move has been on the cards for a while, clearly the lift situation has been in place for a time since then. I don't understand why you didn't think about this at the time of the office move being official. That's not to be unkind but you must have known that work cannot promise people will give transport to you in their own time and in their own vehicles?

If I was one of the car drivers and had been told to drive a colleague to and from work daily I wouldn't be happy. Not unless I was getting reimbursed for motoring costs - which then also has tax implications.

First step is to speak to your union. Consider a new job in a location which is convenient to you.

I used to work in a major supermarket. Each christmas staff were banned from parking in the car park - as obviously spaces were needed for the busy periods for customers. We were clearly informed that the company had no requirement to provide our parking spaces, or transport to work. Which is fair enough.

The drivers benefited from the move as they no longer pay for £10 per day for parking hence why it was agreed they would pick me up

They don't though do they? As they now have free parking at the new office regardless of whether they pick you up or not. You are costing them extra by having to drie out of their way to pick you up. They are doing you a favour and there's a financial and time cost to them.

By treating this as an entitlement rather than the favour it is, you've cut off your nose to spite your face. If you'd bunged the driver a tenner or a bottle of wine one a fortnight, you'd probably be still getting picked up from the station.

Not unless I was getting reimbursed for motoring costs

If your employer orders you to transport colleagues as part of your job, you are getting very close to needing "hire or reward" insurance. You would be in a very, very interesting position if the question were raised as to whether you were driving "on the clock" as a driver, rather than as an incidental part of your job. It's one thing to make a journey as part of your job (which alone requires Class 1 business use), and if you have passengers, so be it.

But to make a journey that you would not yourself make for the purpose of moving someone else, in your own car? Most large employers who need staff to do that will have pool cars, or get rentals, precisely to avoid the uncertainty about insurance.

The first test would be "can I refuse to make this journey and not invoke disciplinary action?" If the answer is "no", then you're driving as part of your employment.

The second test would be "is this journey an incidental part of my job, such as going from one customer to another or one site at which I work to another, or is the journey for the sole purpose of moving something or someone else?" If it's a journey you wouldn't otherwise make (ie, you're just the driver, not the cargo), then that's as a minimum Class 3 business use. Even then I would want to write to my insurer and tell them exactly what I was doing and get them to write to me explicitly saying I am covered.

Companies are not expected - nor should they be - to impose considerable extra work and inconvenience on their workers to benefit one particular staff member. That falls outside reasonable adjustment. Sometimes it is simply not possible to accomodate someone's disability at all; sometimes the adjustments that would need to be made have too severe a negative impact on the employer and therefore are not 'reasonable'.

I doubt there was ever a firm agreement that colleagues would be OP's personal taxi indefinitely, simply because management cannot legally enforce this and colleagues could refuse to do it: because of the insurance/cost issues, because it involves going a considerable distance out of their way, or because they can't face a daily session of being stuck in a car with someone whining and moaning about everything.

My commute is either 45 min drive then 2k walk, or 2k cycle to bus, 40 min bus, 1k walk.

@GhostSauce have you thought about getting a folding bike?

You need to leave behind the notion that co-workers should be providing lifts- it isn't their responsibility to get you to work.

Is there a charity which specialises in supporting people with your particular disability? They might have knowledge of transport schemes or legal guidelines to ensure that your employers are meeting their obligations with respect to your disability.

What the OP is asking for is basically this:

www.mumsnet.com/Talk/am_i_being_unreasonable/2415265-Friends-son-being-made-to-stay-indoors-at-lunch-time

It sounds like you need to get a job closer to home OP. Many people do that kind of commute but I wouldn’t because it would leave me exhausted ( and I don’t have a disability).Plus life is too short to spend it commuting.

I think you need to leave on good terms though and taking it upon yourself to work less is not going to give you a good work record ( same for increased sickness). You need good references for maximum chances of getting a decent job near to home.

Stop feeling bitter about what’s happened ( I do sympathise) because that will stop you moving forward. This has happened now and its up to you to be proactive and bring about positive change.

I would get a taxi for the 1.5 miles once you’re off the bus. Hopefully for a limited time, ‘til you find a new job.
No, it not ideal and it’s expensive but not as expensive long term as getting sacked and unable to find other work due to bad references.

Start job hunting today. Don’t wait until the New Year.

Two separate issues here really.

Firstly, even if the drivers are saving money on parking costs it's not on that they are expected to regularly collect a colleague and drive them to work in their own car and their own time. You could be there friendliest, most grateful person in the world for these lifts but it still shouldn't be part of their 'job'.

Secondly, it sounds like their was no reasonable test etc done in relation to the office move and any adjustments you needed for travel because of your disability. That you probably need a good conversation and maybe some legal advice about.

I feel for you, but I don't understand how it's an extra 3 hours a day if the new office is only 1.5 miles from the old one. How is it taking you 1.5 hours to walk 1.5 miles?
However, whatever the length of time, clearly this isn't working for you and your boss really can't make someone else pick you up. So I think looking for a new job is the right thing.

My commute is 20 min walk to.bus stop 1hr on bus and 20 mins the other side about 1.5 miles just a tad more

If I had a commute of 3 hours on top of a full working day my disability would make it impossible to work (fatigue based disability).

OP you're either going to have to find another job or go for ESA. Chances of the latter aren't great, tbh. I do sympathise, though.

I know people whose job has been relocated 100s of miles away. Some took redundancy and found new local jobs. Some people do the huge commute and rent a room when they are working. Some people moved house to be nearer to their new work place. This are changes and costs involved. This is what happens in life, things change and people adjust to their new circumstances. Which is why I don't have much sympathy about a relocation of just a few miles !

A few metres can be a long way if you can't manage it...

Did you honestly not question it when your boss said "oh don't worry, they will all give you lifts".

Do you think your boss has the right to dictate to employees how they manage their commute? That he can force them to detour to collect you?

Did you not question what would happen if the lift giver was off sick? On leave? Got a different job?

This was clearly an offer of goodwill. But clearly one which would not work long term. Did you really expect all new employees to agree to drive you and increase their own insurance costs? And also the invonceneice of having to pick up and drop off someone you don't really know, maybe don't want to socialise with. And then what if they need to pick up their kids? Or want to go out for dinner straight from work?

It's really obvious that this wasn't a solution. And you cannot say that it's a reasonable adjustment they need to make. Sometimes you just need to think for yourself and work stuff out for yourself. Listening to your boss trying to come up with solutions which clearly wouldn't work... you should have spoken up at the time.

If it's a small company and he's a nice boss, maybe you could ask about some compensatory pay to get you through your job search or something.

that used to be my commute. It’s long but not unreasonable.

It's only 1.5 miles by car between the offices but you can't walk that way (dual carriageway) so the walk is much longer. So I now have to get two buses which already takes much longer than the tram plus the timings between them mean a 20 min wait for the 2nd.
I'm going to stick it out until I get a new job and will be talking to the union today for help in talking to work about working from home
No way I will agree to reduced pay for reduced hours as I will end up doing the same work anyway just for less pay!
And it wasn't the same person but 5 different people any if whom would pop out from work to pick me up. With turnover that changed but it brought it to a head when one refused allegedly on behalf of him and one other.
At least now I know where I stand.

I hope your meeting today goes well and you have a plan for until you get another job.

My problem with with your attitude towards your colleagues. I'd refuse too. A lot of people would. We pay for all our car costs, and driving that extra 6 miles back and forth a day adds up with fuel costs, and would curtail any evening plans of those people.

It's not their job to drive you. Stop acting like they're done something wrong by saying no.

Your situation sucks. It's rubbish. But it's nothing to do with them.