Change of work base
Employees may need to change work base due to:
- a change in council property
- a reorganisation of work, teams and location
All employees covered by this policy will have a mobility clause in their contracts of employment.
We will discuss any proposed changes to work base with affected employees. A disturbance allowance is payable where the increase in home-to-work mileage is more than ten miles per journey.
We will send affected employees written confirmation, giving reasonable notice of when any changes take effect.
Short-term changes in work base
Sometimes, there is a temporary need to move an employee or team to a different location. We can pay additional mileage incurred using the business travel policy for up to six months.
Disturbance allowance
As compensation for more home-to-work travelling costs, we will pay a disturbance payment. This is where the increase in home-to-work mileage is more than ten miles per journey (20 miles return). We will base the increase in distance of travel on the most direct road route.
Payment for this allowance is for no more than one year. We will pay it in monthly instalments. We base this on the appropriate HMRC approved mileage allowance payment (AMAP) for the extra miles covered.
The calculation is: HMRC AMAP rate x (the journey excess x 2) x 225 working days.
We will apply any disturbance payment pro-rata for part-time and home-working employees. We will take into account the number of days per week that the individual must travel to the work base.
If there is a change to the additional travelling requirement within the twelve months, we will review the situation and payment.
As we make the payments monthly, it will not be necessary to reclaim any if an employee leaves the council.
Multiple planned moves
Changes in work base may be a temporary measure pending a more permanent move.
If the second planned move takes places within one year, the entitlement to the disturbance payment applies for one year from the first move.
Subsequent moves within this period may increase or decrease the journey excess. The manager must inform people services to make the appropriate change to the monthly payment.
Public transport
Where an employee uses public transport to travel to work, we will calculate the disturbance payment as we do for those who drive. We will base the increased travel distance on the most direct road route.
Disability
Disabled employees may incur increased costs due to a change in their work base related to their disability. They may be entitled to claim for those additional costs. If this is the case, the line manager will agree on the disturbance sum.
Travel time
Disturbance payments only cover the additional mileage or public transport cost. Employees cannot claim for additional travel time.
Car parking
A change in work base may result in a difference in the availability of staff car parking. Car parking is not a contractual entitlement. If car parking is not available due to a change in work base, staff cannot submit a grievance on this issue alone.
We will consider the provision of car parking for staff that require it close to their work base due to disability or other appropriate reasons.