1.5 hour drive too much?

[jwpetal]

Hi. I have just finished a training program for professionals returning to work after a long break. I was out for 12 years. I have an agreement after the training that the company has 3 months to place me in a company and then the contract ends if not placed. The pay is below market as I am considered a trainee for 2 years once placed.

So, I have been put forward for a roll that is a good opportunity that will lead to full time position and full pay after 2 years if all goes well. the problem is that the commute is, on a good day, 1 hour 20 minutes on the m25 driving. On a bad day...well I can only guess. Public transport is over 2 hours so I would have to drive. Anyone had to do this? I have 3 children that are 9 & 12 so would mean that I am out for long days. I think I just answered my own question but curious to know if anyone else has done this.

Is it good money and,

Have you got back up childcare in case you cannot get home on time?

I did that for a year. I was permanently exhausted. You can however query possibilities re flexible working, working from home, perhaps a move closer.

It’s doable but obviously makes things harder

I have a 3 hour round trip per day and it's exhausting. I used to have a really good manager who allowed me to work from home as much as I needed. New boss not so good and insists on 4 days in the office.

By Thursday I am a zombie.

Do you have childcare sorted?

What about morning school run, packed lunches etc?

It is doable, but just prepare yourself for tiredness, delays etc.

I'd need to ask about working hours, not just the hours they say you work i.e. 9 - 5pm but the actual hours you are expected to put in each day. Also ask about flexible working. Can you work from home one day a week for example or have flexible hours so you are driving when the traffic is less busy.

I'd ask all these things before making a decision.

I do a similar commute but only twice a week work elsewhere the rest of the week. Wouldn't like that full time but there are others in the company who do it.

Oh and it's a good point about asking about "real" working hours. I'm a contractor and fuck off when they stop paying me at x time (occasionally will stay up to 30 mins longer but that's very occasionally) - employees however are contracted till 4.30pm but majority leaves anytime up to 6.30pm.

It is a long commute, but it’s not easy to come back after 12 years so I think it’s worth trying to make this work (unless you are sure there are other opportunities out there). Any scope for working from home some days? Are you ‘tied in’ until the end of the first two years or would you be able to start this and see how it goes? You could look for something else if it’s a nightmare.

I wouldn't do it. Maybe twice a week if you could work from home the other days but 3 hours a day driving is a lot - 15 hours a week! That's almost half another full time job on top.

I will be considered a contractor so plan on working my contracting hours. Saying that, they are asking for international travel and wondering if that would change my pay rate and also my hours. Really good point about the hours of work as I would need to leave early from my home and either leave office early or stay late.

The pay in the first year is £35K and the second year is £38 K after that I would, hopefully, transfer to a full time employee with the company with market rate pay.

I could go back to head office after a time and say that I cannot do it and ask to be brought back in house. They would honour that.

My husband is very supportive and he could go into work later or work from home once a week. We would either get an au pair or after school nanny, which we have at the moment while I am in training, but the hours would have to be extended.

We would consider moving, but would have to wait till I was made permanent so it would be 2 years of 'hell' to get to the other side. I took the training contract because I knew I needed training and support to get back to a professional level.

Thanks for all the feedback. It gives me some questions to ask before I proceed.

If they are asking for international travel, please also ask about how you get paid for that. If I travelled abroad on business I took the time back in lieu for getting to the airport, flight times etc but I was a full time employee. I'd need to know how they would pay me for all of that being a contractor.

In addition will any of these trips be long haul? If you are flying over 6 hours in my last company, you were entitled to fly business class. However I know of some companies who only fund economy and expect the employee to then recover for a day before beginning work if that makes sense? That meant more time away from home as the company would not fund the business class ticket and the trip took longer.

To find this out I'd ask to read the company's travel policy so I could also find out about allowances for food etc, what accommodation you'd be put up in etc. Sounds petty but I've been booked into a hotel before, had a late finish and the price of a basic meal in the only hotel restaurant (not fancy at all!) was far higher than my daily allowance. I was really tired so paid the extra myself but these types of things can really add up.

I will follow up on the travel allowance. The organisation is in the travel industry. From my understanding I would travel 2x a month to Europe. Will ask if I can travel from city airport as that is fairly close. I will ask about the travel policy as that is a good point.

The business has said I can work 1 - 2 days a week from home after my initial settling in period, but really think 2 days minimum.

I've been watching travel times and some days it is about 2 hours. That is just getting too far. I've always wanted to work with this type of business and saying no will be a disappointment, but I would also like to see my children!

I think at the interview I will be honest and explain that I really want to work with the organisation, but will explain my transport issue. If I don't get it, it is not meant to be. They have not filled the position for awhile so thinking I might have some leverage.

It sounds like hell on earth particularly if it involves the M25.

I started a new job in September after 10 years being at home with dc. I had a 1 hour and 20 minutes commute. I honestly thought it would be no problem...I started looking for a new job 5 weeks in! I now work 20 minutes away from my home and I can't even explain the difference it has made. Those months of having such a long commute with three dc was just too much. It made me so miserable. If there was an accident or road closure I would be hours getting home. It was awful.
I recently attended a course where I met the person who got my old job (we do the same jobs just in different locations) and he thought the commute would be fine. He's 7 weeks in and is thinking of leaving already because he is worn out by the commute and he can't imagine doing it for another 3 years until the training ends and he's fully qualified.

I'm on a training programme and the job with the long commute had the best reputation in my field for training and progression. Their reputation is brilliant. So it was incredibly hard to leave but there is no way I could continue that commute long term.