Can a home-based employee be required to attend the office?

[Theyreallwritersdaisy]

I moved onto a remote contract about 4 years ago due to relocation to another part of the UK. There's nothing in my contract about attending the office in person a set number of times a year - all I received was a contract amendment letter saying my location was now home based. When I travel to the office my travel and accommodation is therefore paid for by my employer. With this in mind, can anyone (in HR?) advise if I am required to attend the office at all? Could I effectively refuse to attend (or attend less frequently)?

How frequently are you being asked to attend the office and how far away is it? And what's your role?

Office is now 400 miles away so overnight trips are required. I have quite a head down role (mainly writing), no line management responsibility, and the office is hybrid with all other colleagues only in one day a week (therefore all meetings are on teams as standard). They would like me there once every six weeks or so and I have generally complied, but due to a change in pay policy I am now being paid less than others in the same role. If I'm being paid less for being on a home working contract, with no expectation of visiting set out in my contract, can I push back against coming to the office?

Don't try to conflate the pay issue and the location issue. Every person is entitled to equal pay for work of equal value, but that's a separate issue.

If they are paying expenses, expecting you to come into the office once every 6 weeks (so 8 or 9 times a year) is really not unreasonable and if you refuse a reasonable request like that they can, with careful regard to due process, get rid of you. If you don't want to travel that much then get yourself an equivalent job locally

Home based workers have to go in once a month at my company

I don’t know the answer.
It does occur to me that although I was office based, in a permanent location, I would be required to travel to other locations for meetings and training, etc.
It’s not exactly the same as your situation, but it’s a similar.

Does it say anything about ‘business needs’ , or words to that effect, meaning they may want you in other offices etc.

Why has your pay decreased? Is it because you’re not working so many hours, they’re not paying travelling or petrol expenses etc? I agree, that’s a separate issue, and separate to working in the office, especially as travelling expenses would be paid for.

Did you move, or the office?

Original contract said I am office based at xxxxx and may occasionally have to travel elsewhere for business need/training etc. Amendment to contract simply says my location is now home based and all else still applies. I moved, not the office.

My pay hasn't decreased but our pay bands have been readjusted, giving my hybrid colleagues a pay increase that I wasn't eligible for on a national/home working contract.

The pay thing has annoyed me I'll admit, and travelling to the office when all the meetings are hybrid anyway. But my real issue is that it means I have to travel back on my non working day which requires me to arrange additional childcare.

I just wanted to sound it out before I potentially broached it with my line manager - it occurred to me that I've never really explored why there was nothing added to my contract about coming in. Those on home working contracts in other teams have it in writing that they must attend monthly.

If it says in the contract that you have to have to travel, then I think you do need to go in, and there’s already a precedent that other home workers go in. I guess your only defence is the ‘business needs’ argument . Ie. If you can argue that there’s no ‘business need’ reason for you to be there, such as no in-person meeting planned,.

Childcare issue aren’t their problem, and not a valid arguement.

Okay so the real issue is the need to travel home on your non-working day. Can the meetings you're being asked to attend in the office be moved? Can you travel home same day, even if it means getting home late?

It's probably a mistake in your contract. Technically they don't have a legal leg to stand on IF your contract specifically states you don't work on that day. It would legally be like forcing someone to work a Saturday who is contracted Monday to Friday. The home working clause is likely a mistake if everyone else has it and if you bring it up they will possibly try and add it in. They can't do this unilaterally and if you disagree. They coukd technically fire and retire, but would have to prove genuine business need and would be at risk of losing at tribunal. I would try and work with them to work something out that suits everyone. I think travelling every 6 weeks is reasonable if all expenses are paid.

Could you go up the night before and then maybe they could do meetings in the morning and you could disappear off at 2:30-3pm? I think it's reasonable to struggle with childcare on your non-working day, but the answer to that is to suggest changes not just not going, I think.

Sorry wasnt clear if the clause "may occasionally have to travel elsewhere for business need/training" was deleted ? If so then yes you can refuse but if not then you would need to really. I think every 6 weeks is not unreasonable and they are paying travel. What they cannot expect is that you travel on your non work day so you can say you would need to leave earlier to get home in time

If you have a separate remote contract stating you wfh then yes you have a leg to stand on to start a conversation . However that or the main contract will have wording to the effect of “some flexibility is required” so you will need to accept you will have to be in the office with some degree of regularity. In your situation once a month doesn’t seem unreasonable for example. You need to sit down with your manager and HR and discuss your concerns and agree a compromise.

Best place for advice is ACAS but IMO they are not being unreasonable

my real issue is that it means I have to travel back on my non working day

Then this is the issue you focus on. Everything else is a red herring. Options - they move the meeting, they pay you extra or you take time in lieu.

@Theyreallwritersdaisy my real issue is that it means I have to travel back on my non working day which requires me to arrange additional childcare

Ok so just focus on this, and don't conflate or muddy the waters with these other issues.

Be clear that you are happy to come to the office at the agreed frequency as arranged but that this can only be on Mon/Tue/Wed as you have commitments at home on your non-working day of Friday which are seriously impacted if you are away from home on Thursday evening and it isn't reasonable for them to have such an impact on a day you aren't contracted to work. Don't bring pay into it or try to find a way to avoid the travelling at all.

Are you just having one night's accommodation or two? If your current structure is to travel up in the morning, have your work day start late morning when you arrive, and then a single overnight in a hotel, then the same amount of office time would be achieved if you travelled up the night before, then got into the office at the crack of dawn, but leave at 3pm ish to travel home?

Any time that you are travelling should be paid imo. 400miles is unreasonable to travel on a non work day. They should move meetings to travel in their time.

You can discuss with your LM but unfortunately it’s not their issue that you moved 400 miles away and prefer to/have to travel the day before or after office days.

Your best bet might be to discuss making sure your office day isn’t adjacent to your non working day.

The pay thing is annoying but again, sounds like the firm has a documented approach to home-based contracts paying less than office-based. This is one of the ways wfh becomes eroded.

They’re not being unreasonable IMO.

Original contract said I am office based at xxxxx and may occasionally have to travel elsewhere for business need/training etc. Amendment to contract simply says my location is now home based and all else still applies.

I would take that to mean your contract now says you are 'home based and may occasionally have to travel blah blah.' if its just the location that has changed.

But agree that asking you to travel 400 miles on your non working day is not on and it would be reasonable to raise that as a problem for you. Are you able to flex at all on your hours and switch days around when you go in, so have a different day off and make your travel day a work day? Understand if childcare etc isn't flexible like that though.

Is the pay difference London weighting or something like that?

Thanks for all these replies, it's really helpful. I agree it's not unreasonable for me to go and my issue really boils down to the travel on nwd. I shouldn't get clouded by any other niggles! I really enjoy my job and am not trying to be difficult, I just wanted to understand where I stood before I raised my concerns.

Do you have to stay over or could you work a long day and fly? I’m not sure why it should irk you that Hybrid workers earn more than someone who has moved 400 miles and comes in once per month.