Soldato
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I'm just thinking "Four Yorkshiremen" sketch on reading this thread.
Snow & walking to work
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That makes it more interesting....
https://www.itv.com/news/2018-03-02...-employment-rights-if-you-cant-get-in-to-work
- Do I still have a right to be paid if I can't get in to work?
However, if employer-provided transport is cancelled due to bad weather and an employee is "ready, willing and available to work", workers should be paid, ACAS said.
Soldato
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Can you get hold of some dogs and a sleigh?
Associate
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Associate
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Nice idea......I had a dog and a sleigh.
Soldato
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Many moons ago I walked from Stoke to Stone every morning and back again in the evening. This was only for a week and it was absolute hell. Tell your bosses to politely **** off.
They changed the laws around this a few years back - employers really should get themselves up to date on it as now both the company and individuals can be responsible in a way that wasn't possible before and the consequences can now include prison, etc.
Soldato
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Serious lol! 10 miles isnt a reasonable walk to work, we sure they didnt think you said a 10 minute walk away? Wow idiot company.
An hour's walk at most, on a very temporary basis and if there is very good reason. Your employer's expectation of you is completely unreasonable in two ways:
i) It's far more than an hour's walk. 9.3 miles is about a 3 hour walk in reasonable conditions, but if the conditions were reasonable you'd be able to drive in. Snow and ice bad enough to make roads unusable will obviously reduce reasonable walking speed. So you'd probably be looking at more like a 4+ hour walk. Each way. Plus the fact that they're wrong about the walking distance anyway as it's 9.3 miles by road including a dual carriageway which you're not allowed to walk on. So they're expecting you to walk probably 5+ hours each way. Far beyond reasonable.
ii) There isn't a very good reason. You're not even really being expected to walk to work. You're being expected to walk to your workplace, yes, but not to work. It would make no difference to your employer whether you're sitting at your workplace or sitting at home - you're not working either way. The conditions aren't safe for driving a bus, so you wouldn't be driving a bus. If conditions were suitable for driving a bus, they would be suitable for you to drive to work so the situation wouldn't exist.
Your employers are beign unreasonable. Very unreasonable.
A roughly similar situation has occured where I work in the past, with harsh weather making it impractical for a few employees who live further away to get to work. The situation was handled like this:
Manager's phone rings:
"Hi <manager>, this is <staff member>. I can't make it to work in this weather - the snow is up to my knees around here and the roads are impassible."
"The weather's terrible, isn't it? Thanks for letting me know. Don't worry about it. I'll sort it out. Keep me informed."
Manager then phones a member of staff who lives closer and who isn't working that shift and asks them if they can work an extra shift to cover the person who can't come in. Or, at a push, works the staff member's shift themself.
Problem solved, no drama. Which is how management should be done - problem solved, no drama.
Soldato
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Years ago work paid for me to go on an expensive training course which coincided with a heavy snowfall.
The 90 minute walks there and back every day were torture. I was pretty fit and I still struggled as walking on five or six inches of snow is hard work.
No way I could have done 10 miles, each way.
The 90 minute walks there and back every day were torture. I was pretty fit and I still struggled as walking on five or six inches of snow is hard work.
No way I could have done 10 miles, each way.
Man of Honour
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Wow.
For regular Marathon training I used to run from Blurton (Heron Cross end) to a mile from Stone and back, twice a week and that was enough.
Soldato
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If they were sending a 4x4 around to pick everyone up fair enough but expecting someone to walk 9 miles through snow and ice is ridiculous
Soldato
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Used to walk along the canal in the mornings as it was light, but coming back it was dark so it was along past Meaford Power Station, through Barlaston to Trentham, Hanford and then to home. I used to sleep like a baby.
That's fine if the stranded employee is suggesting that they'll use a day of their holiday entitlement to cover it. Otherwise it should be unpaid leave.
