The main place of an employee’s work may change from time to time to suit their employer’s needs. Increasingly, there is slightly more balance in favour of employees working from home meaning that a change of office is not so disturbing. The focus of this blog is on situations where an employer tries to make a change against the employee’s will.
What does the employment contract say?
Where an employer wants to change an employee’s place of work, the first question should be: does the employment contract allow for this?
If the employment contract is silent on the point, to make this change the employer will have two options:
- Obtain the employee’s agreement to the change OR
- Force the change through without the employee’s agreement.
Take note that there is case authority for the proposition that, in some circumstances, an employee might be expected to change their place of work if the relocation is within a reasonable travelling distance of their home (Jones v Associated Tunnelling Co Ltd).
If the employment contract allows for the employee’s place of work to be changed by the employer, whether the employer can make this change will depend on factors based on the principle of reasonableness.
What does the law say?
Employment contracts sometimes contain mobility clauses which say that the place of work may be changed by the employer.
Courts and tribunals approach mobility clauses with caution to ensure that the employer acts reasonably in the way it seeks to make any change.
The leading case on this is United Bank v Akhtar, in which Mr Akhtar was told to move from Leeds to Birmingham. United Bank relied on the employment contract which, it argued, gave it the right to require Mr Akhtar to move on either a temporary or permanent basis. United Bank, however, gave little warning of the move and decided not to meet Mr Akhtar’s relocation expenses, which the Employment Appeal Tribunal ruled was a serious breach of his employment contract.
When it comes to proposed relocation, affected employees should be provided with reasonable prior notice of the intended change and, depending on the circumstances, may be entitled to help of a financial and/or practical kind.
Otherwise, the affected employee may be entitled to refuse the instruction and be protected in so doing. If agreement cannot be reached the employee may, if they have the requisite period of qualifying service and if the move is impractical/impossible, wish to rely on a constructive dismissal claim.
Disgruntled employees with a concern about a workplace relocation should discuss their concerns with the decision makers at work and consider taking specialist advice.
This blog was written by Ben Lindsay, Solicitor at didlaw.
