Working away from home question

[montysma1]

I work Monday to Thursday. Work wants me to go on a 2day course , Wed and Thur.
This will need 2 nights away as I live in a very remote area and wouldn't be able to get home on the Thur night.

So would be travelling on Friday, my day off. Wouldn't get home till late morning at the earliest.

Am I entitled to this time back?

Depends on your contract.

At my level, I'm entitled to overtime or TOIL for any time worked outside of contractual hours.

The next level up is considered management and that option is removed. They're expected for not much more pay to balance their time effectively. No overtime, no TOIL. Travel outside of agreed working days is their's to work out - with a decent senior team that normally means just balancing out the week before/after.

Its public sector and not management.

Not sure what my contract says, but getting up at 6am to catch a ferry to get home by 1145am is not how I would spend my day off ! So I def want the time back!

You need to talk to HR, your manager probably won't have a clue. I can see an argument for 0.5 days or 1 day if they are feeling generous about the second overnight stay - but it would depend on the wfh conditions you were given the job on.

If you are public sector there will be a policy, check your intranet or have a chat withHR.

Depends on your contract, no one here can tell you the answer.

I would usually tell someone to take travel time back if it was outside usual working hours/expectations.

So check with your Manager first.

Agree with PP that you should speak to your manager to agree something sensible. One option might be to switch your working days that week to Tuesday-Friday?

"Entitled" is one way to think about it.

Is there a reason you can't say to your manager look, this means travelling in my day off, can I take that time back informally the following week. That's what my team would do, and I would say why are you asking me a stupid question, just do it... Or add, if not then I need to attend a course on Tues/Weds so how can I rearrange. Or, I can swap my day off that week so I won't be working Monday but will work Friday...

My experience of this is that it'll depend on the locations of your house, the office, and the event.

I chose to live 1.5 hours away from the office, and most the events looks place in a city another hour on from the office.

People that worked the Friday would spend an hour getting into the office the next morning. I'd spend 2.5 hours getting home, but i didn't claim my 1.5hour commute time back.

It was annoying. But I viewed as, if I worked Friday then the 2.5 hours split as 1hr to office, work the day, then 1.5 hours to home (in my own time).

I would offer TOIL for the extra night and the travel.

Have you posted about this recently?

As others have said it depends on your terms, but should be treated as a form of work

In public sector MoD mine has always been treated as duty travel time.
Normal work travel time would be deducted

I assume you’re travelling Wednesday morning, and back on Friday:

Wednesday = travel time to the course, less your normal morning commute
plus course time
If evening hours are formal course social then that potentially could also be ‘work’ time, otherwise the business just pays for hotel etc
(So you’re ‘claiming’ time for anything longer than normal)
Thursday = unless a longer day then count it as standard
Friday = travel time …. Potentially less your standard commute on the assumption you go home rather than via the workplace

Time off in lieu could equal actual time, or be adjusted depending on terms of employment

(Eg if you travelled up on a Sunday then that could be 1.5 x overtime etc)

Is it because it's away from your usual place of work? Will it be only you going from your area? What are other people doing? And what can't you go home on Thursday after the training? Surely it won't be after 5pm?

Where I work you would get paid for Travelling time but you would be expected to travel home on the Thursday.

If the ferry is because the course is on an island or your normal place of work is based on an island then you would get travel time for the following day.

If it is just because you live on an island then that would be deemed to be your problem.

If it is just because you live on an island then that would be deemed to be your problem

Not necessarily

Off topIc divert:
At my fathers funeral I discovered from one of his former colleagues that my father failed to return to Germany following leave. He was then sighted walking in the front gate and the grapevine quickly spread off his return from being AWOL, and a welcoming committee gathered around the HQ building to await the storm as he had walked straight to the COs office ……. to shortly walk out grinning with his note from the ferryman, because the North sea had been ‘choppy’

Back on topic:
Even if the OP lives on an island, it’s still reasonable for people to have different circumstances

(PS I forgot to put the remark in the middle of that)

Even in the ‘public sector’ of the Army in the 60s, it wasn’t my dads ‘problem’ that he came from an island
But it was to his advantage that he came from an island and knew everyone including being best buddies with the ferryman