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View Full Version : Is it legal to change an employees place of work without their consent?



Sonya P
30-01-2013, 05:32 PM
I have a friend who has been told he has to work at another site for several months.

He currently lives 10-15 minutes drive from his current place of work, where he has worked for the last 10 years.

The other site where he is being told he has to work is a 45 minute drive, so it adds at least an hour a day to his travel time and of course there is extra cost in terms of car running costs. Also he will no longer be able to drop his young children at school, which is near where he currently works.

No additional compensation is being offered but he feels that he has no choice but to go along with this. Is his employer allowed to require him to work at the other location?

Qld IR Consultant
31-01-2013, 06:06 AM
What are the circumstances behind the move?...Did the business close down where he worked and moved him to another site?.......Unfortunately the employer is not required to compensate employees, and although its a measurable impact, 45 minute drive is good compared to some places :) For a few months sounds temporary...If its a case of that or redundancy than in the current climate I would be choosing the extra travel for a few months as opposed to trying to find a new job....

If you could give us more detail it would help for a more direct answer......

Sonya P
31-01-2013, 12:18 PM
What are the circumstances behind the move?...Did the business close down where he worked and moved him to another site?.......

There is no question of redundancy. He's actually being moved to another site to do the same job as he is doing now because they are getting rid of someone (someone is "taking a package").

They are temporarily back filling his job at his current site. They want him on the other site because he is particularly good at what he does.

I don't think he will fight it anyway, he doesn't want to rock the boat. But it would be nice to know what the legal situation was in such circumstances.

Qld IR Consultant
31-01-2013, 01:25 PM
hmmm..first question is why are they not advertising the role at the other store instead of moving him.....

Anyway that aside I haven't read any case law or commission decisions on anything so not sure of precedents etc. I would think that operationally the business would have a right to shift him on a temporary bases under "needs of the business" but depends on a lot of factors both from the business and employees side...case by case basis......

NicoleAnita
31-01-2013, 04:31 PM
Agree with Qld IR consultant. Although it should state in his contract of employment that this may happen. Does it? Even an EBA would state that the company has the right to change your place or location of work within reason. Some say compensation depending own the move etc. if it disrupts his current routine that much I would certainly look at some sort of compensation. Make sure he gets something in writing that its only for a few months or he could find himself working there permanently.

hrprofessional
01-02-2013, 04:17 PM
There is extensive case law on this particular point. If the employee made a complaint to the Fair Work Ombudsman then the complaint may end up at the Fair Work Commission. The Fair Work Commission would look at all relevant considerations to determine whether the employee has been made redundant or not and whether the employee is entitled to redundancy pay.

Remember the question is always 'was there a material change' in that persons employment.

Considerations that the Fair Work Commission may take into account when making a determination on whether that employee was made redundant include
that employees particular circumstances such as;
- family responsibilities
- traffic considerations
- the actual distance he would have to drive.
- whether there are any other forms of transport such as public transport.
- what costs the employee may incur such as new parking costs and car costs and whether the company will cover any of that or any travel allowances.
- whether there is any provision in a contract or enterprise agreement regarding moving his job.
- whether he has worked at that site before.
- what sought of role is the employee in - is it a senior role where there has always been an expectation of travel.

These are just some of the considerations and the Fair Work Commission may consider other factors as well. There is case law considering particular distances but the facts of the cases always vary so we need a bit more information please!

Regards,
HR Professional (http://www.hrprofessional.com.au)

Tiger
04-02-2013, 09:05 AM
Being asked to work from another site is a reasonable request. Obviously there should be consultation between the parties with the employee given opportunity to provide input. 45 minutes travel to work is not unreasonable. Further, for a long time now, organizations have been including such a clause in Offers of Employment letters to staff which indicate that a work location could be changed at some point. If this employee has such a clause, then he accepted the job knowing it could happen. As to collections of school kids, why not negotiate his work hours with the employer to he can collect the child. There are always ways to work thru these issues and it is, as you say a temporary change.

Tiger

Sonya P
05-02-2013, 02:04 PM
Being asked to work from another site is a reasonable request. Obviously there should be consultation between the parties with the employee given opportunity to provide input. 45 minutes travel to work is not unreasonable.

Do you think it would be reasonable for your employer to say to you, "we want you to give us an extra 5 hours per week of your time, for three months, and we're not going to compensate you for it" ?

Because in essence that is what is happening here, when an employee has their daily travel time increased from 30 minutes per day to 90 minutes.

That's 21.6 hours per month, or almost 3 days per month.

I don't think this is reasonable at all.

Incidentally, there is nothing in his contract about the possibility of being required to work at another site. In fact when he joined the company the other site didn't even exist.

He's sucking it up and doing it anyway, but only because he's concerned about the consequences of saying No.

NicoleAnita
05-02-2013, 04:04 PM
Sonya. I agree that sometimes these things do happen and they are not always to the employees advantage. Is he doing the same job or a different one? For example is he setting up the new division etc? If yes you would expect to be compensated. Or even if he's performing at a higher more skilled level. It is not a redundancy so take that out of the equation.

Why did he not have a discussion with his boss before accepting? As I mentioned earlier if there is no clause in his contract mentioning the ability to allow this, then no they should not be able to do it without his consent. They probably don't realise it's that much of a change. This is why companies now put it in their employment contracts or an EBA.

I also suggested he get something in writing ensuring it is only temporary. What are the consequences of saying no? What would the company do? Considering he's been there for 10 years he's in a much better position if the company decided to sack him! Especially as you say there is no clause in his contract and no consultation with the employee. To change any employees working conditions you need the employees consent if its a major change to working hours, days, full time etc. I wouldn't think an extra 30 mins travel is a major change. Its certainly an inconvenience but not being able to drop off or pick up your children certainly is if he can't make other arrangements for someone else to do it.

He really should have a discussion with his boss. You never know they might even come to some agreement where he is reimbursed for the extra travel if that's the only 'extra' he's doing.

Sonya P
05-02-2013, 04:29 PM
Is he doing the same job or a different one?

The job he does at site A also exists on the other site (site B). Basically they have moved him because they have got rid of the person who does his job at site B.

They have temporarily promoted someone into his job at site A.

He didn't make a fuss because he believed it could be career limiting in the future!

It's too late to do anything now, but I just wanted to know what the legal position with something like this.

I have suggested that he gets something in writing!

NicoleAnita
05-02-2013, 04:49 PM
I bet the person who is doing his job now is being compensated! Def make sure he gets it in writing. It sounds a bit dodgy to me. Why didn't they just hire a contractor to do the other job while they recruit? I assume the plan is to have someone at the other site permantly?

Well if it all goes wrong he can get advice from the Fair Work website. There are also documents to lodge a claim if he needs to. By the sounds of it he may need that advice.

Good luck.