Help needed … do I have to RTO ?
Since 2019 I have purposely chosen to work in remote (home-based) roles for a number of reasons, one of which is driven by the impact of an advanced and progressive eye disease in both eyes which results in a visual disability i.e., limiting the extended time in environments which trigger symptoms and other atopic conditions that makes daily lens wearing time and the time available with good vision low, reduce the risk of infection, further corneal degradation or the loss of bespoke contact lenses.
I have come to my current role via an acquisition of my previous company where I was also a remote worker with a negotiated contract and renumeration package based on remote working. Early this year the business released a statement of “office vs flex” stating that any employee within 50 miles of an office will be classed as “flex” and no longer entitled to remote worker benefits including expenses into an office or home wifi/telephone charges. At the time it was confirmed that any changes to our contracts (as a move to flex working would be a contractual change) “all employees would receive written confirmation once the project is complete i.e.. We are still working with some employees globally (and some in the UK) who have not yet confirmed their choice of office vs flex.”. Whilst I have endeavoured to be a good corporate citizen and have refrained from claiming any expenses I may be entitled to as a remote worker I have never received, to my knowledge, an updated contract nor signed any amendment stating as such.
The return-to-work policy (mandatory 2 days per week) will be in full force from the 1stJanuary, that being said, I have not had any further consultation on the initial Office/Flex decision since April, a discussion about whether I would have additional access needs to be able to work in the office more regularly, nor on the remuneration impact that a return to work would entail to my net salary.
As I wear bespoke rigid contact lenses to correct my vision, all of the detail regarding how people are affected daily and at work are relevant. I am not completely immune from triggers by working from home, there have been times where I have had to remove a lens and mitigate escalations of the eye swelling etc, that being said these occurrences are more easily manageable when based from home with the appropriate solutions/eye masks, lighting, etc on hand.
The additional expense to abide by the RTW policy would be in the region of £70 weekly which is approx. an additional £900 per quarter from my net salary as my contract does not presently include renumeration for travel expenses/inclusive of London weighting. This equally does not take into consideration the additional 2+ hours per day commuting time.
i have expressed in my 121s with my manager that it has not been my intention to return to an office/hybrid role on a permanent basis; that being said, given the responsibilities of my role I am happy to make myself available to attend my nearest office as part of my responsibilities. Whether this is a weekly 1 or 2 day(s) per week need however is debatable in light of the fact that the teams I support are mostly outside of the UK and therefore my location to them is less relevant. Even so, given the above factors, to be forced, without consideration of exceptions, to the return-to-work policy from the 1st January I believe is unfair.
Can the business force me to RTO and if so, at effectively a net pay decrease ?