Working in contracted delivery office. Is this acceptable?

nuit · Post by **nuit** » 14 Dec 2016, 08:34

Hello

I understand that we are expected to be flexible with our place of work and can be sent to other offices when required. However the situation I wish to question seems wrong to me and I want opinions on whether this is acceptable.

I was told yesterday that I would have to go and work in a different local delivery office for the next few weeks as my office is now overstaffed since someone returned this week from long term sick.

I have 12 years seniority in royal mail but am the newest person in this delivery office having recently transferred from elsewhere. I am a reserve in my new office.

I understand that reserves can be required to go elsewhere. However there is a person in my office that my manager is keeping there instead of me who is contracted to and on loan from a different local office. They came over on loan when the office was short staffed due to multiple long term sick absences.

The person on loan has 10 years less seniority than me. My manager likes them a lot and they are a favourite due to regularly working 60/70 hour weeks. I am limited to what overtime I can do as I have only been trained on a few rounds.

My manager said they are sending me off instead of them because the person on loan has been trained in more routes than I have currently so they can be easier/ better utilised should someone go off sick.

Isn't it the managers fault/problem that their own staff are left less knowledgeable of the other routes than someone on loan. Why should I be penalised for their poor management?

If my office is overstaffed now by 1 shouldn't the person on loan be sent back to their own office instead of myself being sent elsewhere for the foreseeable future?

Do I have priority to work in my own contracted office over someone else whose contract is for a different office? Regardless of how many delivery routes my manager has trained them on compared to how few they have trained me on so far.

Any advise would be appreciated.

Also the office they are sending me to is nearer to my home address but should I be insisting on travelling to my normal contracted office further away and travelling back to the temporary office within my paid working hours or is this ridiculous?

beanmuncha · Post by **beanmuncha** » 14 Dec 2016, 11:41

I am not 100% sure about who can sent to other offices, i was under the illusion you had to be asked?
But if anyone can be sent then yes the less senior and not attached to your office should be.
As far as the office being nearer i would drive to it but claim expenses for travel from your own office and back
if he refuses to pay this then drive to your own office and ask him how are you getting to the other office"!
But i would sort that beforehand so you know you will get it.

Post by **TrueBlueTerrier** » 14 Dec 2016, 14:15

To restate the obvious:

You must have the correct insurance, commuting does NOT cover travel to anywhere except your contracted office. If you don't have at a minimum business use insurance you are not covered.

Travelling time from your office to another (and back) should be in duty (or paid) time.

Specifically, the method of choosing who goes should be agreed with the rep, but can be by using reserves or volunteers.

As to the other less senior, you have made no mention of how far their office is from yours, and if its in the opposite direction then the amount of travelling could be considered unreasonable. Also as they are not part of your office, officially, then as far as I know your manager cant send them to yet another office without first checking with their parent office (after all its them that will be paying the extra mileage costs).

Post by **greengiant** » 14 Dec 2016, 15:34

The next time they ask, reply that you don't have transport

that day, and need to borrow a van?

fishtank · Post by **fishtank** » 14 Dec 2016, 16:04

You do realise that being the "newest" in the office means absolutely nothing. You carry your seniority with you and if there are any vacant duties in the office they should be offered to the most senior reserve until advertised or there is a full office repick. If there has to be a temporary loan it should first be offered to volunteers, if no one fancies it then a discussion has to take place with the rep and all of the reserves as to how it should be managed but being the "newest" in the office should have no bearing on that.

Jpro747 · Post by **Jpro747** » 14 Dec 2016, 17:19

Surely if they're overstaffed they should've sent the loanee back to their original office???

nuit · Post by **nuit** » 14 Dec 2016, 19:29

Thanks for your replies.

To try and make things clearer I will try and explain a bit better without giving too much away.

My office is in a small town about 15 miles from a fairly large city. In this city there are 2 delivery offices about 5 miles apart. The loaner at my office who she is keeping over myself comes from one of these offices- the one in the north of the city . I am now being sent to the other of these offices the one in the south part of the city.

I believe that we both live in this same city somewhere .

nuit · Post by **nuit** » 14 Dec 2016, 19:43

update my previous post.

I have just found out from a colleague that the loanee at my office actual comes from the office that I am now being sent to. So it turns out that they have swapped our locations. This makes it even worse in mind.

nuit · Post by **nuit** » 15 Dec 2016, 06:58

I've been trawling through the agreements that I can find online trying to find related information .

I've got the pay and modernisation agreement 2007/09.
Is there any others which I need?

My manager doesn't believe that I am entitled to travel in paid time and can't use my own vehicle and my union rep isn't helping me.

If there are any agreements that come to mind that state the order of which employees should be ordered to go and work in other offices when an office is overstaffed they would be useful.

beanmuncha · Post by **beanmuncha** » 15 Dec 2016, 07:18

Get the area rep's number and phone him (off your rep), and tell him what is happening and your rep is not helping.

Else tell your manager you will be at your own office at your normal start time and how you
travel to the other office is up to him.

telithowitis · Post by **telithowitis** » 15 Dec 2016, 17:47

http://www.royalmailchat.co.uk/communit ... php?id=451" onclick="window.open(this.href);return false;

Page 7 of the PDF clear as you like.

Creditshampoo · Post by **Creditshampoo** » 15 Dec 2016, 19:03

Very simple. It's the Law to have correct insurance and if you don't you're breaking the law.

Tell your manager to sod off.