Can my employer insist on renting an office for me close to home?

[SisterFarAway]

I work for a company in Central London and currently go in two days a week. Company is paying for a taxi service so I don't have to take public transport.
For various reasons, I am the only person who is able to go to the office and deal with all the tasks that arise there.

I have a friend who owns a flat five minutes from my office and who is currently abroad (for the foreseeable future). So I go in one morning, stay at my friend's flat for one or two nights and then go home again. This is mostly to facilitate shipments, look after the mail, etc.
The taxi cost works out at around £270 a month.

Now my office manager is pushing me into looking at places closer to home for the duration where I could receive and send packages. However, he is insisting on private offices, rather than shared. This would start at £650 or so per month.

The taxi company have upgraded all their cars and fitted plastic partitions so I am completely separated from the driver. I feel very safe in that car.
Then there is the small issue, that we'd almost have to facilitate a whole office move to get the supplies, stock, etc. to local premises.

It all seems to make no sense to me. Could someone advise whether they can force me to change locations? I appreciate it is a complaint on a rather high level, as many people are furloughed or lost their jobs all together. It just doesn't make sense to me from an economical point of view.

Thank you for your responses.

Is he going to close the London office? If you're the only person going in and you'd be working locally then presumably they don't need the London office anymore?

So, they'd save the cost of the taxi plus London office rent and just pay out for an office closer to where you live (I'm assuming cheaper than London office rents).

If they are closing the London office then I suppose they can force you to move? You can't go to an office that isn't there anymore.

I don't think they are closing that office, as my boss lives nearby and wants to be able to walk to work, but he can't come in due to his age. Also, other colleagues would balk at having to completely cross London if the central office was closed.
One of them usually takes over when I am away, but she is currently shielding due to some underlying conditions. She would never travel to where I live as it is "not central London".

what is it that you are objecting to?

So they want to open an office near your home, just for you, to deal with some post etc? Seems very odd, there must be another solution?

Isn't it better for you to not have to travel?

I don't see what the problem is - they are looking after your well-being by finding a base close to your home so you don't have to travel into London. What are your objections?

Sounds like you're getting a good deal to me

Your boss wants to pay for you to have an office closer to home? Bastard.

Why is this a problem for you?

...and to answer the question in your title, yes of course they can do this

They can relocate you, with notice. What is your issue with working closer to home? Would it not save you time.

It would save me about ten minutes in total at best, add 15-20 minutes - based on what is available at the moment. That is in total.

If I go into the office, everything is there, all supplies for shipping, I know the drivers, their arrival times, etc., close to home I would not know them. I would also have to facilitate an office move, on my own. Another thing is that if I go into our office, I at least see other people working in the surrounding buildings, can have a chat with them in the garden during lunch (at a very safe distance). Working close by, I probably would not see a human in weeks, apart from the weekly trip to the super market.
I realise that I am probably quite und reasonable but I live on my own and my mental health would suffer more than it already does, I fear.

I think you're being unreasonable. Your office environment is not there to prop up your human interaction. You'll get to know new drivers. Arranging an office move is pretty straightforward.

I would imagine your contract will state eg "at any location operated" etc

I don't think youd have a leg to stand on if you said no, plus do you really want to rock the boat at this time?

Ask to review with them whether it makes financial or practical sense for the business. Or work out how you can get to work without taxis.

Tell him what you've told us.
There may be tax reasons why getting an office more locally to you is better.

It's a bit daft for them to do that as it's likely you'd look for another job if you were so isolated, and then they'd be stuck with an office in that location.

I can't understand why it's cost-efficient for them to do this, if a taxi's less than half the cost.