Nominated driver

[Namechangetheyarewatching]

So there is a team of three, me and two men, then our line manager man, then his line manager man, then his line manager female, we don't see her very often perhaps once a year at an away day.

That's just to give you the make up of our group.

The three of us are the only people in the organisation who do our role.

So one of the men in my team uses a wheelchair and up until now his wife has dropped him to meetings as and when required, we WFH 99% so not often.

They have now arranged a hire vehicle that can take his wheelchair, but no driver.

I have been asked to drive and pick up the vehicle (hour round trip), then drive back and pick up my colleague and then drive to the meeting (hour there), doing it all in reverse on the way back. It takes me an hour to drive from mine to the meeting.

So a 4 hour trip, picking up a colleague, hour meeting, home.

Or 2 hour trip, hour meeting, home.

I have to be honest, I don't want to become the default driver, it's not my responsibility.

YABU, suck it up help a colleague

YANBU, they should find another way, such as a driver

YANBU No way, shut it down now, I'm presuming this is nothing to do with your job role. The company will have to order him a cab or whoever's smart idea it was suggest they do it themselves. There's always risks involved with driving and if not directly related to your role then you shouldn't be taking it on.

Sorry that sounds harsh, your apprehension is because you're a good person who naturally wants to help and that's probably why they have asked you. Don't let them take advantage of your good nature 🙂

Why can't this assistance be shared between the team members?
It sounds very unfair for just one person to have to do it all.

This sounds crazy, surely a taxi would be more economical when you consider not only the cost of hire car, your travel expenses and the time when you should be working but aren't.

I live the closest to him

His wife needs the car three days a week for work

I agree

If the car is part of a mobility scheme the wife can use it for work but not at the expense of the registered disabled person or in a way that prohibits their mobility.

obviously we don’t know the ins and outs but either way it would be a hard no from me!

I would definitely push back on this. Effectively by pulling you away from your actual job, they are increasing your workload. How does that time get made up?

From the colleague’s point, travel to work by taxi or hire car sounds like a taxable benefit to me, if he is reasonably expected to be in the office.

Sounds ill thought through to me.

Its not about supporting your colleague, its about sorting this through professionally and appropriately.

Not part of my job
I think a taxi would be the cheapest and best option.

What if there was an emergency and I needed to leave early or I was sick

We WFH bit need to have face to face meetings occasionally, obviously we all travel to the same place and because I live 10mins from him I have been asked to drive him.

However it means an hour out my way, each way. No I won't have to make the time up, so I dunno.

I have pushed back and said no

Can't the meetings take place on a day his wife doesn't need the car?

He can't drive it as his condition stops him, so she would drive him to meetings and hang around. That's not idea obviously so the line manager was trying to sort a better solution.

A taxi would be better, but he suggested a hire car and me as the driver.

The colleague can make an application to Access To Work. They are a government organisation that help people remain in work.

Someone where I work has taxis provided by Access to Work. No cost to the employer.

https://www.gov.uk/access-to-work

Reasonable solutions is what's rightly required of employers and this doesn't sound reasonable. The very obvious solution is, as you've suggested, to use teams for all meetings. If it has to be face to face then there must be some sort of funding thought Access To Work or something that could cover the cost of a driver or an accessible cab.
Push back on the note taking too. If you point out that you did it last time so it's Steve or Geoff's turn this time, then it's hard for them to say it's your job without mentioning the penis exclusion clause.

Tbh if it's during working hours I think it's a reasonable ask, especially since the meetings aren't that often. YWNBU to say that it should be shared among your level though, if the car is at the office it doesn't matter that you live near your colleague, that bit would be the same for everyone. I'd raise the minutes issue in the same discussion and point out that these meetings are substantially increasing your workload in comparison with your male colleagues.

I think it is each employees own responsibility to get to work/work events. How many hoops would the manager jump through for you?

Could they hire a room near him and then pay for a taxi to drop him off? It sounds like you are just ten minutes from him so you would be able to save time too. If the meeting could be done on teams then it should be able to be done in a generic meeting room. Presuming of course that the managers are not too important to travel to you.

So they are proposing you drive 4 hours, take responsibility for driving a disabled colleague in an hired adapted vehicle, attend a 1hr meeting, in which you participate equally and minute take at the same time, then drive another 4 hours home ...

Whilst everyone else just attends the meeting...

Nah... I'd decline too!

I have pushed back and said no

Good! What was the response?

Oh Tish tosh @LittleOwl153 #bekind...
@Namechangetheyarewatching does the colleague even know you're being asked to be his support worker?

I would hate to think my colleagues were talking about me like this. I’m sure he’s more than happy to organise his own taxi and claim it on expenses, or use a taxi on the company account if they have one.

Bloody cheek whoever thought it up. Let the man and the company sort it among themselves. First time you do it you will be tied to it.

They should organise a taxi, or as he is the one who needs to get to the meeting he should arrange one. How an employee gets to work is generally the employee's affair. Usually employers just have to facilitate their disability once they are at work. It definitely shouldn't be another colleague's responsibility. You're employed to do a particular job that presumably doesn't involve chauffeuring

I think zoom or Teams are the answer here

I'm not back till work until Tuesday so I will find out what the response is.

Thank you to everyone, lots of helpful advice.