Employer’s responsibility

[Pokerpops]

My 18 yr old granddaughter works for a major supermarket stacking shelves. The store she is at is about 2 miles from her flat, about a 35 minute walk. She was working 4 till midnight which wasn’t great for getting home, but recently they shifted the shift pattern so that she now finishes at 3am.
The small town where she lives doesn’t have a night bus, nor does it have taxis that operate beyond 1am during the week.

Once she passes her driving test it will be easier, but she failed this week and the next date isn’t till mid-november. Meantime she needs the job.

Any suggestions anyone? Employers don’t seem to have any responsibility for this.

[Juperjiper]

How much notice they give?
Sounds shit
But unlucky her

[Jon MW]

Employers have a duty of care to their employees to and from work - i.e. they are responsible for their safety.

Most places with very late shift work put on transport to cover themselves for this - in practice it's pretty difficult to get them to do something if they're not willing.

But has she definitely asked them if there's anything they can help with?

[teddybloat]

can she not get a bike, must be a 5min bike ride?

[RED-DOG]

Yep. A bike, some good high viz clothes, modulating lights etc.

[arbboy]

Must be someone who could give her a lift home after the shift ends given its only 2 miles away if the company refuse to do anything.   Seems bad to have young girls going home at 3am on their own walking/cycling if there is no public transport or taxis available.

[BangBang]

Buy her a bike with a high vis vest

[Pokerpops]

Some good stuff here, thanks.
She’s going to have a word with her manager and see what help/advice they can offer. She’s a touch shy so asking colleagues direct is hard for her, hopefully the manager will help her out with that.
Cycling at 3am is only safer because it’s quicker, but it is at least quicker.

[ripple11]

Wow an 18 yr old girl walking home for 2 miles at 3am.....I would never allow that if I were her manager.

Maybe she can change the shift pattern until she passes her test?....or can someone give her a lift?

[bunnydas8888]

From experience of being a manager in a supermarket on a similar shift pattern is that the employer don't have to do anything here.  I'm guessing she is contracted to certain hours, so once they wanted to move the shift pattern to the later hours, they should have consulted with employees who would have consented. If an employee did not consent to the new contract then the employee couldn't do much about it unless they went down a redundancy route.

[vegaslover]

Employer doesn't have to do anything about how people get to and from work outside of work hours.

[celtic]

https://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/the-law-when-an-employer-asks-you-to-change-your-hours/

Does anything in that link help?

[Pokerpops]

From experience of being a manager in a supermarket on a similar shift pattern is that the employer don't have to do anything here.  I'm guessing she is contracted to certain hours, so once they wanted to move the shift pattern to the later hours, they should have consulted with employees who would have consented. If an employee did not consent to the new contract then the employee couldn't do much about it unless they went down a redundancy route.

Employer doesn't have to do anything about how people get to and from work outside of work hours.

You are both correct, but it feels very much as though you shouldn’t be. Employers should have a duty of care that extends beyond the specific contracted hours. In this instance the store is a minimum 20 minute walk to the closest residential area and the route is along a road lined with industrial units.

https://www.workingfamilies.org.uk/articles/the-law-when-an-employer-asks-you-to-change-your-hours/

Does anything in that link help?

It’s of interest, and there is a sense that the shift change is indirectly discriminatory against young staff both female and male. Will wait for now to see if the manager comes up with anything helpful.

[Jon MW]

From experience of being a manager in a supermarket on a similar shift pattern is that the employer don't have to do anything here.  I'm guessing she is contracted to certain hours, so once they wanted to move the shift pattern to the later hours, they should have consulted with employees who would have consented. If an employee did not consent to the new contract then the employee couldn't do much about it unless they went down a redundancy route.

Employer doesn't have to do anything about how people get to and from work outside of work hours.

You are both correct, but it feels very much as though you shouldn’t be. Employers should have a duty of care that extends beyond the specific contracted hours. In this instance the store is a minimum 20 minute walk to the closest residential area and the route is along a road lined with industrial units.

...

They do have a duty of care for staff travelling to and from work - it's been tested and confirmed in court.

But like I suggested before it's kind of hard to take any enforcement in situations like this - if they don't want to do anything then it's more of a case that if something happened they could get in trouble after the event.

And having read this - it would have to be temporary or irregular for it to avoid tax and NI implications (primarily for the employer)
https://smallbusiness.co.uk/providing-transport-for-employees-261533/

[Pokerpops]

From experience of being a manager in a supermarket on a similar shift pattern is that the employer don't have to do anything here.  I'm guessing she is contracted to certain hours, so once they wanted to move the shift pattern to the later hours, they should have consulted with employees who would have consented. If an employee did not consent to the new contract then the employee couldn't do much about it unless they went down a redundancy route.

Employer doesn't have to do anything about how people get to and from work outside of work hours.

You are both correct, but it feels very much as though you shouldn’t be. Employers should have a duty of care that extends beyond the specific contracted hours. In this instance the store is a minimum 20 minute walk to the closest residential area and the route is along a road lined with industrial units.

...

They do have a duty of care for staff travelling to and from work - it's been tested and confirmed in court.

But like I suggested before it's kind of hard to take any enforcement in situations like this - if they don't want to do anything then it's more of a case that if something happened they could get in trouble after the event.

And having read this - it would have to be temporary or irregular for it to avoid tax and NI implications (primarily for the employer)
https://smallbusiness.co.uk/providing-transport-for-employees-261533/

I’d seen the stuff you linked there, and as you say it is more relevant to occasional late working beyond normal end time.

I can’t find anything that supports the idea that the employer can be compelled to either provide transport or alternative work.