Garden Leave and Disciplinary Hearing...

[flowertop]

Hi, hoping some HR experts can help with this one. A friend resigned from their company on a 12 month contract so is currently on garden leave which is nearing the end. Company has called friend in for disciplinary hearing for various reasons. The journey will take 3.5 hours to drive there and the same on the return journey. Friend would like the meeting to be held nearer to home say 1.5 hours drive max. Is it reasonable for the company to insist on the 3.5 hour journey. The meeting is in morning so even a train journey would not get them in on time. What is a reasonable request for this meeting. Thanks.

If the place of the meeting is where she was working then they are being perfectly reasonable. If not she should ask for it to take place at her usual place of work or close by.

Thank you SS. The meeting is to be held away from the usual place of work about 3 hours further. Can she insist that it be held at her usual place of work or nearby? not sure if this makes any differnce but the company are currently paying for her fuel so could they not insist she drives the 3.5 hours each way for the meeting?

I'd push to get it held at a place which she used to work in but if they're still paying her then its not unreasonable if travel costs are covered as presumably they are paying for an eight hour day and she doesn't do it.