Q & A Table of Contents
My Boss Won't Pay For A Safe Trip Home At 3AM
From: Emma, Hastings, UK
Question: My bosses refuse to pay for me to get home at 3am when there is no public transport after working an 11 hour shift. People have told me there are laws against this. It is costing me a fortune.
Response: Your first step should be to follow up on the possibility there are laws that cover your situation. If such laws exist, you should bring them to your bosses and ask them to take care of your future trips home -- and reimburse you for your previous expenses for getting home from work. You may also want to investigate whether there are any law cases covering similar issues -- and whether there is a legal precedent governing your situation. This may require the assistance of a lawyer -- or a friendly law student.
If no such laws are available to protect you, you need to determine your primary objectives in this situation: are you more concerned about your money, your safety, your comfort, or some other issue. Try to put yourself in your bosses' shoes; are they only being cheap or do they have to consider what precedent they may be setting for other members of staff.
Think of the variety of choices that can be made to deal with your situation: trading off a regular company-paid taxi for changed pay or other compensation, modifying your work schedule, or even a car leased by the company that is available for your personal use. In other words, be as creative as possible in thinking about possible solutions.
Don't present your bosses with a menu from which they must make choices. Rather ask them questions: "How would you feel about x, or y, or z?" You might also ask them how they would feel if their wives/mothers/sisters had to face the issue of getting home at 3AM without a car or public transportation.
Remember, you are not going into battle. Your objective is to make your working conditions better. Your bosses' objectives should be to keep (and protect) a good employee. You may not want to threaten to quit -- it depends on the job market and the alternatives available to you. But you need to have a sense of when it is time to be prepared to walk out if they won't give you appropriate treatment.
Good luck,
Steve
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