No redundancy after nearly 40 years at job

[Blueorredpill]

My ex’s department is being moved to somewhere over 20 miles away and because he can apply for a job there, they say he will not be entitled to redundancy. He doesn’t want the extra travel time added on to his day as won’t see his children as much and they don’t pay him enough to cover the extra costs. Understandably he’s in a right state and has been signed off work. I believe he’s had legal advice and seen CAB. Any ideas? TIA

Tbh I also don't see the issue, the company are moving the Dept so no chance of change there......his job is moving with the dept so no chance of change there......if he is above minimum wage he will have to manage the cost to get to work as that's the wage no matter how far from work he is. The mental health issue ? That's a separate issue in many ways and he should be talking to his GP about his ability to manage change and stress as this is a very normal level of stress and change.
I struggle to show compassion as my daughter has a life altering disability and as part of this suffers chronic fatigue.....she works full time commutes 40-50 minutes a day depending on traffic and holds down a very stressful job and is seeking promotion.....many many people have to learn coping mechanisms to deal with change and your Ex needs to be one of them.
The laws on redundancy are very strong and as his job is not being removed and he is not being asked to travel an excessive distance/time to get to work he is not going to be able to claim redundancy. Oh and he will be seen as intentionally unemployed too in the eyes of the DWP so he needs to gets his life in order pronto.

But that presumes the company are aware that the commute would cause MH issues, BakedBean.
Why would they even consider the possibility?

It’s an extra 30 minutes...
It doesn’t even appear to be the main issue, op also says he’ll spend less time with his kids as a result (I wonder how old the kids are?)
Again, a non issue as far as HR are concerned.

It sounds like there is a clause for reasonable travel within his contract, and this would be considered reasonable travel.
I'm sure other people from his workplace travel more than a 10 minute walk to work, and that's classed as fine.
It sounds like he may only have two options which are to travel and lump it, or to look for another job, which I concede may be daunting if he is 60 or so years old.
When a branch of my workplace closed down a few years ago I went from a 10 minute bus ride, to a 35 minute train ride, and whilst it was more expensive and took longer during strikes it really wasn't that bad.

My normal workplace is about 40 mins drive away, but I sometimes work in another office which takes me nearly 2 hours to get to. My previous job was around 1h 10 mins by train. I think of 40 minutes as local. He's very lucky to have had a 10 minute walk to work for 40 years, and of course communting will mean a worse quality of life, but unfortunately it's normal life for a large number of people.

YOu say he can apply for a job at the new workplace - do you mean he's not guaranteed a job there? That's the issue I'd be looking at rather than travel time: is the new job guaranteed and is it at the same kind of level as his current job?

It’s not a bad communte and I don’t think it’s unreasonable. I’ve been doing the same for some years and I have quite complex health problems. It really hasn’t been an issue at all and certainly hasn’t impacted on my physical or mental health. Is working from home an option for him at all?

Erm well, because a reasonable employer would speak to their employees and have a bit of dialogue about such a change to their place of work, and the OP’s ex would tell them?

Some of you are making the assumption that because YOU would find the change and the commute OK, that the OP’s ex is unreasonable because he doesn’t. That may not necessarily be the case and why the OP could do with reading the links I posted and getting some proper advice.

A company aren't going to base their location on preserving a single employee's 10 minute walk to work. It would have been lovely for him if they chose to stay where they are because of him, but if he's not even being paid enough to budget for a pretty standard 40 minute commute then I imagine he's quite cheap labour and very replaceable.

I'm his situation I'd approach them about early retirement. An awful lot of companies add mobility clauses into contracts precisely to avoid having to pay off anyone in their workforce who doesn't fancy what amounts to quite a minor move.

Can we ask what your ex does for a job? It's very very rare to have a job in one place for 40 years......let alone live 10 minutes walk from that job for those full 40 years.

I understand that it's a blow for him. However a 40min commute is perfectly normal. If he was job-hunting as a JSA claimant then he'd be expected to look at roles with a commute of up to 90mins each way.

I do think that if the company are relocating then they should be looking to offer help with travel expenses for a period of time, as that's quite usual in these types of situation.

Failing that, his only other option would be to demonstrate that the new location would have a significant and adverse impact on him which could not be accommodated by the company. Such as the additional travel time making it impossible for him to pick up a child before nursery close, and the company cannot change his working hours - and so on.

I do understand the benefits of having a short commute and being able to walk to work etc. But that's not a right. If the new commute is a deal breaker for him then he needs to have a think about finding a new job closer to home.

Yes I too was wondering about the age of children. A 10 minute commute is unusual. Can appreciate he may have got used to having tea with them, taking to activities, going to school events etc as have you op but that is not a reality for many. If children are older now do they really need his presence as much? Is it perhaps the change and uncertainty that is affecting his mh rather than the commute itself.

To be fair to the OP, by the time my dh will have been in full time employment for 40 years, our ds will only be 12 so it's quite possible there are younger child at home still. But a 40 min commute? Can't see the issue tbh...

I don't think he's BU. I worked at a company that relocated and we were offered the additional petrol costs for a year. It might even be that he would have to now buy a car which is a massive extra cost that he isn't currently budgeting for. I know 20 miles isn't huge (I've done that myself) but to go from a 10 min walk to a 40 minute drive is a big difference to your day. Is his job moving or is he having to apply for another job? If it's another job, then yes his role is being made redundant.

If it's all online can he work from home?
Personally a 20 mile commute isn't bad, a bit of a change.

What is it he does? And why would it be so bad for him? What does he earn? Is that the issue?

If his job is mostly done online, presumably his job is primarily office based, meaning he would have had a permanent office base ?

I would check his contract for this mobility clause and he should be entitled to travel costs, if he is moving his permanent office base.

It sounds like your partner has had it good for a long time and now they’ve chucked a bit of change his way he’s not liking it, which to be fair I’d be annoyed about too, but what your relaying from your husband sounds a bit one sided. Maybe when he’s calmed down a bit he can get onto acas that can give him some proper advice about his rights and weigh up his options with him.

Can you explain why he would find the commute difficult? As others have said, it is a very reasonable travel time, much less than many people's. Travelling that time won't affect his mental health at all. Are you saying he already has a mental health condition that means he can't do this? Please explain.

The company is part of a much larger company and is staying where it is. It is just his department that is being moved, so he could stay where he is as the job is online but they won’t consider this. So the commute is unnecessary. I would add something else but at the risk of being judged and people’s negative opinions I won’t. All I asked for is some advice, why do some of you feel the need to make people feel worse than they already do? It serves no purpose! So thanks to those who have given me advice and things to look into. Much appreciated

Redundancy is for when the role being performed is no longer required, i.e. the role is redundant, which doesn't seem to be the case here.

As there appears to be a mobility clause in his contract, he has no right to stay in his current location and TBH additional travelling costs tend only to be paid on relocation if it's a significantly longer journey.

Being unable to absorb the additional travel costs also suggests that the pay is very low? If that's the case, he must be a very minor part of the company so not really that relevant to them in the grand scheme of things, so not worth them making a policy exception for one person (e.g. the working remotely thing).

If he's worked for them for 40 years, and his mental health is that poor that he can't cope with a commute that's much less than many have to deal with, maybe taking early retirement on medical grounds as suggested by a pp would be an option.

I agree that a 40 minute commute sounds perfectly reasonable. Of course it's not as good as a 10 minute walk but I think your DH was exceptionally lucky to have had that at all, let alone for nearly 40 years.

I can see that this will be a lifestyle change for your DH. But if he can't get something comparable nearer home I think he will have to live with it for the time being.

I suffer from some mental health issues and whilst I can cope with being 10 minutes from home to work. I could not cope with a move further away so I do sympathise with that. His other reasons seem odd though unless the children are very young. You haven't said how old they are. Are you relying on him to look after the children while you work?

18 miles/40 minutes is nothing, in fact it's pretty average. Lots of people travel much further/longer. I'm pretty sure his employer will have to compensate him for travel costs for a specific period, although with it being a fairly small commute, maybe not. He needs to take advice from his union, or if none, then ACAS.

How old are his children?

If he’s had legal advice and been to the CAB, presumably based on a much more detailed look at his circumstances, why are you asking here?

A forty minute journey to work really isn’t excessive. He needs to pursue whatever options the legal adviser and CAB have suggested to him.

But if the entire department are being relocated, your dh has absolutely no grounds at all to announce that he can stay where he is, as he’d rather not commute
Does he seriously think this is an option?!

I imagine the thought of 40 years worth of redundancy pay does seem quite appealing, especially if OP's partner is near retirement age...