To think this meeting is too far to travel to?

[Martha5983]

I joined a new team at work during the lockdown. The team live all over the UK.

A 2 hour face to face meeting and lunch has been arranged in May. I’m only allowed overnight accommodation in very specific circumstances- for example if I complete a site visit the following day. It starts at 11.30 to ‘allow travel on the day’. The journey will be 6 hours - meaning that to attend the meeting I’ll need to be on a train at 5:30 - probably up at around 4am. Journey home will mean I am home around 10pm. I don’t have a company car and my normal working week is 9-3 four days a week.

It’s in the middle of my daughters SATS week - so I’m not keen on an overnight for that reason.

I feel pressured to go because it’s important for team building and on the basis that I’ve worked from home and travelled minimally for the last few years. I don’t mind being flexible with my working pattern. But even before covid the max travel I’ve done in one day would have been a journey of around 2 hours.

AIBU to say that this journey is unreasonable and that I’ll join remotely or will I risk looking like I’m not a team player and miss out on the face to face contact?

You'll get lots of people telling you YANBU but, honestly, I think it depends on the norms in your industry/company. This wouldn't be unusual in mine, but I know there are other jobs where you can always expect to work within your official contracted hours.

Is that 6hr driving each way? I think you could argue that that's not very safe. Is there a public transport route which is quicker?

@Martha5983
I'd clarify that they will be providing toil or flexi if you are doing 11 hours on top of your working day.
That usually centres everyone's thoughts !

Do you live somewhere very remote? Are there flights available? I don't this is feasible for a day really.

12 hours’ round trip travel for a 2 hour meeting and lunch? Absolutely ridiculous!

6 hours? Presumably you have a number of changes as well. That is quite excessive, could you not push for an overnight? I know you don't want to, but 12 hours' travelling for a 2 hour meeting is insane.

Can you not fly?

6 hours each way?! Wow! I think you should definitely make efforts to attend however this would include asking about accommodation the night before.

Can you hire a car through work to shorten the journey?

Yes I do live somewhere remote - but the company I work for has offices all over the UK including within half an hour of where I live.

That's a ludicrous journey - it's also pointless if you can join remotely.

Can you fly? Hire a car?

What childcare do you have for your dd?

I think it honestly depends how much notice you have (a moderate amount?), company expectations and how much you get paid.

6 hours is a long long way for a base - I think I would have been wary about getting a remote job that far away for just this reason.

I can see this specific time you might not want to go because of your daughter's SATs but presumably you'll have to meet the team in person at some point so I should get planning for how you will do that.

Even if that's - well, I can't make this time but I would like to come to the next one so I'll need X weeks notice to sort childcare and I'll need to come down the night before. Or whatever.

I have done plenty of work trips requiring me to leave the house by 6am, thankfully not many earlier than that.

I also think you need to minimise your morning routine on days like that - it's not your company's fault it takes you 1.5 hours to get from home to station?

If you pack your bags the day before, including a packed breakfast in the fridge, a travel cup for tea/coffee and a makeup bag if that's your thing, and get your clothes ready then you should be able to get out the house in under 15 minutes even allowing for a shower as long as you don't wash your hair that morning. Yes it's inconvenient but I used to do that literally every day for years and I suspect the occasional (couple of times a year?) day like that has got to be expected even in pretty much entirely remote jobs.

Tbh personally I'd prefer they just ducked up some hotel costs and did a arrive night before, full day then a half day and sent everyone to get home at lunchtime arrangement but I don't have childcare difficulties.

I'm also astonished that a meeting finished at 1:30 PM can get you home at 10pm - at that point is it quicker to fly? You're talking about 8.5 hours of travelling - I could literally drive from the south of England to fort William in that time.

SATS are to measure the school, not your child, no matter what your school is telling you. I’d take that out of the equation.

It isn't at all unreasonable with lots of notice to ask you to go to this one meeting; you need to see how to make it work really. 6 hours is a particularly long journey, I can get across London and up to Scotland by train in that time, or get to the airport and fly anywhere in the UK plus a taxi. It would be unusual to get a full team meeting out in the sticks, so either you're very far from head office or did you perhaps look at bank holiday public transport time rather than midweek? Did you check options that might be more expensive like a flight or getting a taxi mid-route to avoid going down and back up again, as you can then get approval for that? Did you include buses in your full option so you have a few changes but travel direct? I'd avoid the overnight if it's just a 2 hour meeting, but that will be necessary if you're driving.

If they have offices all over the UK that might change things - will they be rotating in person stuff around them? Can you suggest that and then go to one within a 2-3 hour trip from you instead?

Can you drive and get reimbursed for the petrol?

I think the travel and timings are unreasonable. At my work, you are entitled to an overnight stay if a journey means you'd need to set off before 7am.

I wouldn’t be travelling 6 hours each way for a 2 hour meeting that could be done on line.

I think she said meeting then lunch so leaving 3:30 home around 10. Like others said not great but just one day. 9-3 are pretty cushy hours if it's otherwise a good job I'd stuck it up. Can you sleep on the train ?

Sod that - I'd attend remotely, it's a ridiculous expectation.

And I say this as someone who took a job in Covid knowing I'd have to commute 4 hrs per day 2 x per week once things were back to normal

That's a mad journey to do without an overnight stay to break it up.I would make that argument and see what they say.

I'm not seeing the relevance of the SATs issue so I would leave that bit out.

Are work funding your travel? If they are, I would probably just pay for a premier inn or travelodge myself if they don't pay for it.

Can you give an idea of the locations OP? It seems such an unusually long journey that I'm struggling to think of why it can't be done faster. I've just checked and you can get from Cornwall to Manchester in that time by train, but of course it's faster to fly.

Thank you for all the comments - really useful to get different views - I appreciate it.

When I say 6 hours I’m talking door to door - it’s a cross country train journey of 5 hours - Norwich to Manchester - lots of stops but thankfully no changes if I time it right. My car is a 10 year old fiat so I wouldn’t be brave enough to take it on such a long journey and frankly it wouldn’t be very comfortable!

Can't you stay in a hotel the night before? Take a leisurely breakfast then join them . That's what I'd do and I live 4 hours from my work.