Future of work: Managing employee relocation
There are lots of reasons why you might be looking to move employees to a new location. If your office lease has expired, or if you're expanding into a new area, here are our Trowers Top Tips to help you plan for the move.
- Check the employee's contract
Does it contain a mobility clause allowing you to move the employee's place of work? If so, make sure that the clause is exercised reasonably, so you'll need to discuss the move with staff and their representatives. If there is no mobility clause you may not be able to move the staff without their agreement, or you may have a redundancy situation - Plan your consultation
Even if there mobility clause, you still need to consult. Make sure that the employee understands why the move has to take place and the implications for them. Think about ways you can mitigate the impact, such as help with additional travel costs, or adjusting work times if they will have a longer commute. This will help later on if you have to impose the change without agreement.. Make sure you've thought through what the implications are if staff don't want to move. Are you able to impose the change, or might you have to offer redundancy? If so, what will it cost? - Allow enough time
As well as time for consultation, you'll need to allow time to give notice of the move. Make sure that the employees have time to absorb the change so that they can make adjustments such as planning new commutes, or putting different childcare in place.