Asked to work from a different office with less than 24 hours’ notice

[wondershallneverend]

I’m looking for some perspective please.

My normal workplace is Office A, which is where my role and team are based. I have a meeting scheduled with my manager that was arranged a few days ago. However, today just before midday, he emailed to say that he will be working from a different office tomorrow and asked me to meet him there and work from that office for the whole day.

This other office is not one my team works from and it isn’t my usual base. It’s around 3.5 miles away from my normal office. The notice given to change work location is under 24 hours.

I’m not happy to attend the meeting there, I’m uncomfortable with being asked to work the entire day from a different location at such short notice, especially as this wasn’t mentioned when the meeting was first arranged and there’s been no prior discussion or agreement about changing work base.

Is it reasonable to push back and say I can meet him there but then return to my normal working location? Or am I being unreasonable given the distance isn’t huge?

I’d appreciate views on what’s considered reasonable in a work setting.

"My manager is fully aware that I don’t drive, I can’t use public transport for medical reasons, and I physically can’t walk that distance."

So you have a serious disability. That you didn't mention at the start. It's a bit like saying can my boss expect me to speak to customers then when everybody says yes, saying ah but the customers speak only French and I only speak English.

That's a bit of a drip feed OP!

Not a bit of a drip feed, a MASSIVE drip feed!

I was being generous - but you're right, it's massive!!

I agree. What a waste of time. If OP had been more upfront, this conco would've ended ages ago. Can see why the managers get annoyed.

That said people need to get a backbone amd leave on time. They cannot fire the lot of you and nothing stopping you all taking out a class action.

Let me now unfollow this post. 🙄

That drip feed is very convenient.

So you can get in a car? Could get a taxi? It’s 3.5 miles not 35 miles

Changing location for a meeting - assuming not a regular problem - is not an issue, very normal and not far enough away to be notable, IMO.

But if the dripfeed is true then start looking elsewhere and meanwhile if people are working 70 hours of OT a week (how?) or even 40, they should be checking they're not being effectively taken below minimum wage and contact ACAS for advice.