Can you be forced to work from home?

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Can you be forced to work from home?

My employer is proposing to close our office, and staff will be offered option to work from home, or use other office 60 miles away.
I currently work from home 2 days per week, but full time home working - so never seeing colleagues. - would be a completely different scenario.
CAn they do this?

Well I guess they are offering the other office 60 miles away? Is it worth trying to spend one or two days a week there?

I will be looking into that, but added on to my current commute it’s 2.5 hours each way.
Personally, I think I will cope, but there are some of my colleagues who will find it difficult. They may not have the facilities at home to set up a workstation - it seems presumptuous of my employer to assume everyone can work from home.

It might be worth looking at acas as it is a significant change in working conditions

Check if your Contract of Employment stipulates your normal place of work as being xyz Office Location. 60 miles sounds like it represents a significant difference in commute to you (what's your current commute in miles?)

Sounds like they could be trying to get out of paying for relocation by saying that's ok you can work from home. If you need face to face interaction and the only way is to commute 120 miles daily, that's a significant change. How many people does the office closure potentially affect?

Hi Daisy. The contract does specify ‘your initial work location will be X’. Though it also includes a clause reserving the right of the company to second me to other offices, and to travel within the UK or overseas to fulfil the duties of my employment. Neither of the clauses seem to apply here.
The company’s motive is to save on office costs, with the argument that the work can be done remotely. It probably can, but I know some of my colleagues would go spare if they had to work all the time on their own without the social contact of work (as well as possibly not having suitable space for offices in their homes). Hence I’m trying to understand if such a change qualifies as a situation where redundancy should be offered.
There are approx 30-40 people in the office affected.

One of the other things I'd be looking into is where appraisal meetings etc would be carried out and whether expenses for travel to the office 60 miles away would be paid on the assumption they would be held there.

Could your colleagues look into local co-working opportunities? I know they don't exist everywhere by any means.

Maybe redundancy is an option if people don't have the ability to wfh? Presumably work would pay for all the equipment, broadband and whatever else you may need to enable you to wfh full time.

When my old company shut my office I was offered a relocation. As it was regarded as a change to my terms in my contract I had 28 days on starting in the new office to decide whether it was acceptable or not. If at any point in that 28 days I decided I didn't want to accept it I could still take the redundancy (which I did). The 28 days was handy as it gave me extra time to find another job but still take the redundancy pay (which I did).

A few points:
As you mentioned about colleagues and equipment, will they be providing any? (And fulfilling any GPDR requirements, etc.)
Could you and colleagues be able to conference call, on Skype for example? (Again, an equipment need).
Where do they propose face-to-face meetings if they will be needed?
How are they intending to police working hours? Time logged on to a PC?
Not necessarily relevant to your post, but they would be in many.

Yes. Under your contract they have reserved the right to second you. That is what they are doing but they are giving you the option to work from home if you want.

Thing is though if you already work from home at least part of the week so even if you argue it’s a redundancy they’ll say it’s a suitable alternative.