Wife having job issues after returning from maternity leave
Discussion
I’m hoping somebody here with a good knowledge of employment law can help me with an issue that my wife is having at work. She works for the NHS in healthcare professional role, and is based “in the community” – ie she has to go out and visit patients in their homes.
She has been in her job for 7+ years and has returned this week after taking maternity leave for a year. Her job was based in a town (let’s call it location x) ~20 miles from our home and her “patch” was in the same area (and at a wild guess, 10 miles radius from location x). The team she worked in spreads around a much larger area, and other people in the team could work out of another base (location y) about 30 miles away (and this is just inside of the M25, the other base is 30 miles outside of it). A few weeks before she went on maternity leave, due to changes in the management structure, the official office of this service team moved from location x to the location y. She was told that apart from having to go to location y once a week for a team meeting, she could continue to work out of her original, more local office location x.
This brought us to problem 1: She was told that she would not be able to claim mileage for visiting her patients until she had clocked up enough miles in a day that was the equivalent of driving the extra distance to location y. This stipulation was never imposed on anyone working out of location y when the official office was in location x.
Problem 2 occurred when she returned to work this week. She was advised by the new manager that a new person had joined the team a couple of months ago and was allocated to my wife’s old “patch”. She now wants my wife to cover an area which is local to location y as it would be disruptive to move the new person. This would now mean that my wife would not have the option of working out of location x on the vast majority of days. Not only would she have to spend an extra 30 minutes of her own time getting stressed in the car every day (including the additional expense of fuel and wear and tear on her car), but this would also cause timings to be exceedingly tight for picking up our child from nursery (my own working hours won’t allow me to do this).
I’m not overly clued up on employment law, so would appreciate any advice from anybody who knows more about this than me! My wife says that her new boss’ attitude is pretty much ‘like it or lump it’, so I have suggested she goes to HR. The whole situation is really upsetting her, and I don’t know how much of a leg to stand on she has. Problem 1 seems ridiculous and I can’t believe they are trying to get away with it (I half-jokingly) suggested she tells her boss that all patient contact will be in the office from now on!), and problem 2 has inklings of constructive dismissal but I have no idea how much employers are actually allowed to move peoples’ locations.
Any advise gratefully received
She has been in her job for 7+ years and has returned this week after taking maternity leave for a year. Her job was based in a town (let’s call it location x) ~20 miles from our home and her “patch” was in the same area (and at a wild guess, 10 miles radius from location x). The team she worked in spreads around a much larger area, and other people in the team could work out of another base (location y) about 30 miles away (and this is just inside of the M25, the other base is 30 miles outside of it). A few weeks before she went on maternity leave, due to changes in the management structure, the official office of this service team moved from location x to the location y. She was told that apart from having to go to location y once a week for a team meeting, she could continue to work out of her original, more local office location x.
This brought us to problem 1: She was told that she would not be able to claim mileage for visiting her patients until she had clocked up enough miles in a day that was the equivalent of driving the extra distance to location y. This stipulation was never imposed on anyone working out of location y when the official office was in location x.
Problem 2 occurred when she returned to work this week. She was advised by the new manager that a new person had joined the team a couple of months ago and was allocated to my wife’s old “patch”. She now wants my wife to cover an area which is local to location y as it would be disruptive to move the new person. This would now mean that my wife would not have the option of working out of location x on the vast majority of days. Not only would she have to spend an extra 30 minutes of her own time getting stressed in the car every day (including the additional expense of fuel and wear and tear on her car), but this would also cause timings to be exceedingly tight for picking up our child from nursery (my own working hours won’t allow me to do this).
I’m not overly clued up on employment law, so would appreciate any advice from anybody who knows more about this than me! My wife says that her new boss’ attitude is pretty much ‘like it or lump it’, so I have suggested she goes to HR. The whole situation is really upsetting her, and I don’t know how much of a leg to stand on she has. Problem 1 seems ridiculous and I can’t believe they are trying to get away with it (I half-jokingly) suggested she tells her boss that all patient contact will be in the office from now on!), and problem 2 has inklings of constructive dismissal but I have no idea how much employers are actually allowed to move peoples’ locations.
Any advise gratefully received
you would have to look at the contracts but generally most places with multiple locations have a clause that says they can move your home office 20 miles or similar without it impacting on your current terms. I would expect the move from office x to office y would fall under the existing contract and not be relevant for any HR issues. If that is the case then asking her to work from an area within the range of office Y would seem like something she could already have been asked to do without a change of contract, can't expect to come back and get the same exact position and they have fulfilled their part by offering a similar job that would fulfill her contractual obligations, not their issue if it is a bit further away and adds to travel time, office y might be closer for the person currently covering the area around office x so there might be an option to swap areas (possibly after they complete their trial period which they might be in now foe 6 months?).
Problem 1: you can't claim for commuting. Nobody can.
Problem 2: driving to work and 'getting stressed' is what we all do. Getting to nursery in time isn't her boss' problem, it's hers/yours.
Move house? Move jobs? Spend a quiet moment and realise any job's a good job at the moment and show a bit of Dunkirk spirit?
Problem 2: driving to work and 'getting stressed' is what we all do. Getting to nursery in time isn't her boss' problem, it's hers/yours.
Move house? Move jobs? Spend a quiet moment and realise any job's a good job at the moment and show a bit of Dunkirk spirit?
Crusoe: Thanks for the advice
SpeckledJim: Maybe I wasn’t clear enough in the op or maybe you didn’t read it properly , I’m not talking about claiming commuting mileage, I’m talking about business mileage driving from location x to a patient and back. They are now saying that if you work out of location x, then you cannot claim any business mileage for visiting patients, until such distance is covered that is the equivalent of the additional distance to location y and back. In this instance it is very rare that my wife would ever be able to claim any mileage for driving she does for work purposes. Historically, people based at location y (when location x was the official base) did not have this stipulation, they could claim every mile driven.
As for the location, she accepted a job 7+ years that was at the time, and was up until she left on maternity, based in location x. She wouldn’t have taken the job if it was in location y. I understand what you are saying about we all have to commute and it’s good to have a job, but her commute has suddenly been doubled because her job location has been handed to somebody new while she was on maternity leave. Yes getting to the nursery is our problem, but the rules have changed at the eleventh hour (she had a back to work meeting with her boss 1-2 months ago and none of the patch switch was mentioned) and it doesn’t feel like they are entirely reasonable.
Appreciate the feedback anyway
SpeckledJim: Maybe I wasn’t clear enough in the op or maybe you didn’t read it properly , I’m not talking about claiming commuting mileage, I’m talking about business mileage driving from location x to a patient and back. They are now saying that if you work out of location x, then you cannot claim any business mileage for visiting patients, until such distance is covered that is the equivalent of the additional distance to location y and back. In this instance it is very rare that my wife would ever be able to claim any mileage for driving she does for work purposes. Historically, people based at location y (when location x was the official base) did not have this stipulation, they could claim every mile driven.
As for the location, she accepted a job 7+ years that was at the time, and was up until she left on maternity, based in location x. She wouldn’t have taken the job if it was in location y. I understand what you are saying about we all have to commute and it’s good to have a job, but her commute has suddenly been doubled because her job location has been handed to somebody new while she was on maternity leave. Yes getting to the nursery is our problem, but the rules have changed at the eleventh hour (she had a back to work meeting with her boss 1-2 months ago and none of the patch switch was mentioned) and it doesn’t feel like they are entirely reasonable.
Appreciate the feedback anyway
Whilst the employer might decide they will not pay for travel to any location that is a shorter journey than the new workplace, as long it is not a permanent relocation (or temp for over two years) the HMRC considered it tax deductible.
Example, home to office is 25 miles each way. Today, no trip to the office but straight to customer location elsewhere and then home at 24 miles each way = 48 miles HMRC consider allowable expenses even if the location is only a few hundred meters from the office.
If less than 10,000 miles like this per annum then claim 45p at prevailing tax rate or effectively 9p per mile if a 20% tax payer. Not too much but it all helps.
Example, home to office is 25 miles each way. Today, no trip to the office but straight to customer location elsewhere and then home at 24 miles each way = 48 miles HMRC consider allowable expenses even if the location is only a few hundred meters from the office.
If less than 10,000 miles like this per annum then claim 45p at prevailing tax rate or effectively 9p per mile if a 20% tax payer. Not too much but it all helps.
JeffreyLebowski said:
Crusoe: Thanks for the advice
SpeckledJim: Maybe I wasn’t clear enough in the op or maybe you didn’t read it properly ?, I’m not talking about claiming commuting mileage, I’m talking about business mileage driving from location x to a patient and back. They are now saying that if you work out of location x, then you cannot claim any business mileage for visiting patients, until such distance is covered that is the equivalent of the additional distance to location y and back. In this instance it is very rare that my wife would ever be able to claim any mileage for driving she does for work purposes. Historically, people based at location y (when location x was the official base) did not have this stipulation, they could claim every mile driven.
As for the location, she accepted a job 7+ years that was at the time, and was up until she left on maternity, based in location x. She wouldn’t have taken the job if it was in location y. I understand what you are saying about we all have to commute and it’s good to have a job, but her commute has suddenly been doubled because her job location has been handed to somebody new while she was on maternity leave. Yes getting to the nursery is our problem, but the rules have changed at the eleventh hour (she had a back to work meeting with her boss 1-2 months ago and none of the patch switch was mentioned) and it doesn’t feel like they are entirely reasonable.
Appreciate the feedback anyway
The patch switch is irrelevant to the Mat leave. SpeckledJim: Maybe I wasn’t clear enough in the op or maybe you didn’t read it properly ?, I’m not talking about claiming commuting mileage, I’m talking about business mileage driving from location x to a patient and back. They are now saying that if you work out of location x, then you cannot claim any business mileage for visiting patients, until such distance is covered that is the equivalent of the additional distance to location y and back. In this instance it is very rare that my wife would ever be able to claim any mileage for driving she does for work purposes. Historically, people based at location y (when location x was the official base) did not have this stipulation, they could claim every mile driven.
As for the location, she accepted a job 7+ years that was at the time, and was up until she left on maternity, based in location x. She wouldn’t have taken the job if it was in location y. I understand what you are saying about we all have to commute and it’s good to have a job, but her commute has suddenly been doubled because her job location has been handed to somebody new while she was on maternity leave. Yes getting to the nursery is our problem, but the rules have changed at the eleventh hour (she had a back to work meeting with her boss 1-2 months ago and none of the patch switch was mentioned) and it doesn’t feel like they are entirely reasonable.
Appreciate the feedback anyway
They could (and did?) switch the patches of everyone in the team, no? Mat leave or not?
I think the difficulty is her (appearing to) waltzing back in after a year off and rejecting the 'progress'. Not a good scene to be in. Especially if everyone else is getting on with it.
Nobody else from office x has had a patch switch as far as I am aware, they are just also effected by the official office move from location x to y being imposed on them in regards to business mileage. So all people who did (and still do) work out of x, suffer from the lack of paid business mileage, but as far as I am aware only my wife has had her patch moved to a location which makes it impossible to be based in location x. People who were originally working out of office y (from when it was not the official office) are completely unaffected by this change.
Apart from some vague implications of "What next? They will be wanting votes or something" in a couple of posts above, this thread is a haven of calm and civilisation compared to the shouty misogynist one currently running in S,P&L! JasandJules has correctly identified the key question of whether there is here a detriment which is connected to maternity. If, but for being away on maternity leave, the Mrs OP would have retained her old patch, then she may have a legit beef. That could probably be resolved through internal discussion or a grievance procedure if need be.
JeffreyLebowski said:
Historically, people based at location y (when location x was the official base) did not have this stipulation, they could claim every mile driven.
That's not supposed to be how it works in the NHS - unless people are travelling to base first, then out to visit patients, then back to base.You're always supposed to deduct the home to bas mileage if going direct to an off-base location, or going directly to home.
Ilovejapcrap said:
markiii said:
Year of on maternity pay, be glad there's a job to come back to
This probs won't go down very well but o kind o agree with you.Jasandjules said:
From what you say, a replacement has taken over her "patch" and she is now suffering in effect a detriment because of it.
The starting question is what does your wife want to do?
She just wants her old patch back.The starting question is what does your wife want to do?
speedyman said:
Can she not be based at home and be classified as a mobile worker if there is no reason to go to the office on a daily basis. All travel expenses can then be claimed. Also being based at home means her day starts and stops at home.
Sadly this isn't an option.markiii said:
Year of on maternity pay, be glad there's a job to come back to
oh dear.DragsterRR said:
If she has been doing this since she went back doesn't that count as implicit acceptance of the new working conditions/contract?
Last Wednesday was her first (and only last week) day back, and the first time she was told of the change.Breadvan72 said:
JasandJules has correctly identified the key question of whether there is here a detriment which is connected to maternity. If, but for being away on maternity leave, the Mrs OP would have retained her old patch, then she may have a legit beef. That could probably be resolved through internal discussion or a grievance procedure if need be.
Obviously nobody knows 100% for sure, but I would say it would be extremely unlikely that they would have moved her from her old patch if she had been at work at the time.Sheepshanks said:
That's not supposed to be how it works in the NHS - unless people are travelling to base first, then out to visit patients, then back to base.
You're always supposed to deduct the home to bas mileage if going direct to an off-base location, or going directly to home.
I'm not sure I was entirely clear - when location x was the official base, people working out of location y would be able to claim all mileage from location y to a patient and back again. They weren't claiming from their homes to location y.You're always supposed to deduct the home to bas mileage if going direct to an off-base location, or going directly to home.
Thanks for all the input guys
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