Home Based Field service engineer - discplinary

[SharpmanTF1]

Need some info:

Company is putting me on a disciplinary for 'failure to start travel'

 

Gist of issue is.

I am, according to my contract a 'home based' engineer. I have a Bybox approx 1.8 miles from my home where I have to go each morning to collect parts or use as my start point for work.

 

It takes me approx 7 minutes to get to this location.

 

The company states that the first 30 minutes is unpaid. My contractual hours are from 09:00 to 17:00. 30 minutes either side of those times are unpaid.

 

Now, the company has started to insist that we 'start travel' at 08:30 precisely on the dot, no leeway.

 

They have trackers fitted to vehicles, which they are using as ammunition for evidence of 'start' time. It has been established on numerous occasions that the tracker is not the most reliable piece of equipment and was not designed for the purpose in which they are using it.

 

I have an engineer coming out to my own tracker as it is faulty.

 

My real question is, can an employer stipulate when you leave your house to travel to a given place even though the place in question is only 1.8 miles, approx 7-15 minutes from home.

 

what I do in the 30 minutes upto 09:00 is my own business sureley. as long as i'm ready to start work at 09:00

 

Any opinions, greatly appreciated.

[catzeyes79]

If your contractual hours are 9 to 5:30 then I can not see how they can touch you. Have you had any warning prior to this?

What evidence do they say they have to back up disciplinary. Was tracker faulty at time in question.

 

 

Need some info:

 

Company is putting me on a disciplinary for 'failure to start travel'

 

 

 

Gist of issue is.

 

I am, according to my contract a 'home based' engineer. I have a Bybox approx 1.8 miles from my home where I have to go each morning to collect parts or use as my start point for work.

 

 

 

It takes me approx 7 minutes to get to this location.

 

 

 

The company states that the first 30 minutes is unpaid. My contractual hours are from 09:00 to 17:00. 30 minutes either side of those times are unpaid.

 

 

 

Now, the company has started to insist that we 'start travel' at 08:30 precisely on the dot, no leeway.

 

 

 

They have trackers fitted to vehicles, which they are using as ammunition for evidence of 'start' time. It has been established on numerous occasions that the tracker is not the most reliable piece of equipment and was not designed for the purpose in which they are using it.

 

 

 

I have an engineer coming out to my own tracker as it is faulty.

 

 

 

My real question is, can an employer stipulate when you leave your house to travel to a given place even though the place in question is only 1.8 miles, approx 7-15 minutes from home.

 

 

 

what I do in the 30 minutes upto 09:00 is my own business sureley. as long as i'm ready to start work at 09:00

 

 

 

Any opinions, greatly appreciated.

 

 

 

[renegadeimp]

If your contract states 9, and they try to tell you what you do before this time, then they can either pay you, or keep quiet.

[Sidewinder]

Agreed - what is 'reasonable' is that the employer can expect you to be ready to start work at the appointed time, so if you were in an office and it would take time to remove a coat and prepare the workstation to be able to start work promptly at 9am, then they could expect you to be in the building in good time to do that. In your case, providing that you are ready to actually start WORK at 9am, then that is what matters, and I am assuming that this is a sop to those who aren't fortunate enough to live only 7 minutes away from the initial place of work, so they are trying to impose a blanket 30 minute travel time requirement so that everybody actually leaves home at the same time.

 

As stated above - if you start work at 9am, and are in place to do this, then they cannot insist on you leaving at 8.30am and start early unless they pay you to do so.