How to handle a 250 mile round trip to work fortnightly on an Inside IR35 contract?

[Tractor Trace]

As needs must, I have just signed an Inside IR35 contract which stipulates that I must be in the office one day a fortnight. The journey is about 140 miles each way of mostly motorway driving but estimates on Google maps state between 2 hours 30 mins and 2 hours 50 mins. Taking the train is out of the question as it involves 3 changes, a bus journey and a 15 minute walk.

As it's only one every 2 weeks with the rest of the time working from home, I don't think staying over in a hotel is really warranted (in view of it being an Inside role, costs etc.). However I've never covered that many miles in a single day, let alone also do a full day's work on top, so not sure how well I will get on with this. In the past I had a 2 day, 60 minute each way a week commute on the train and that was pretty draining in itself.

Anyone else had a similar distance and working pattern, and how did you work it e.g travel/ start/ finish times? It's a 6 month contract but likely to go on much longer

[avonleigh]

As needs must, I have just signed an Inside IR35 contract which stipulates that I must be in the office one day a fortnight. The journey is about 140 miles each way of mostly motorway driving but estimates on Google maps state between 2 hours 30 mins and 2 hours 50 mins. Taking the train is out of the question as it involves 3 changes, a bus journey and a 15 minute walk.

As it's only one every 2 weeks with the rest of the time working from home, I don't think staying over in a hotel is really warranted (in view of it being an Inside role, costs etc.). However I've never covered that many miles in a single day, let alone also do a full day's work on top, so not sure how well I will get on with this. In the past I had a 2 day, 60 minute each way a week commute on the train and that was pretty draining in itself.

Anyone else had a similar distance and working pattern, and how did you work it e.g travel/ start/ finish times? It's a 6 month contract but likely to go on much longer

Wouldn't stay over for one day's work. If it were me I would leave at 6:00 AM to get there for 9:00 AM. Not going to be a big deal if once a fortnight.

[malvolio]

You can't realistically do a 5 hour drive and a day's work in one day; I've had to do that in the past - Bristol to Colchester and back - and it's a killer.

You need to agree with your client about an early finish the day before and the day in question - only an hour or so - so you can drive up the night before and hit a cheap hotel for the night (if you can find such a thing these days; even Premier Inns are £100 a pop now).

Others will know the current rules better than me, but this may not be claimable under IR35 rules. However, it would greatly reduce the risk of something nasty happening.

[Ketto]

Did similar a few years ago, although for me it was two consecutive days once a month. I just took the hit as a personal cost for train and hotel - the rate was very good so it just meant a few hundred quid less a month for me. I’m not a fan of massive commutes before/after work, although I know people who regularly get up at 430am to drive to an office. Not for me though.

Other option perhaps is to ask the client to cover some or all of the costs (maybe too late for that if you have already signed up), found out at the above gig that another contractor had negotiated that - clearly she was much more astute than me!

Finally i’d suggest that whatever you have agreed now isn’t necessarily what you have to do for the whole duration. I ended up only going down for two months out of six in the end. The project was such a death march that i just said that taking all that time out for travel was counterproductive so we agreed 100% remote. So maybe do 1-2 months, prove your worth and then try and change arrangements.

[hobnob]

Have they specified which day it has to be? If you can make it a Monday, that means that you can travel up on Sunday and stay overnight, then travel back on Monday evening. This cost will come out of your net salary, and it will disrupt your weekend, but I think it's the best option. Also, Sunday night tends to be cheaper than Thu/Fri/Sat.

I did something similar for an inside contract (when I was in the office Mon-Fri), so one day a fortnight isn't as bad as that!

[Ketto]

Have they specified which day it has to be? If you can make it a Monday, that means that you can travel up on Sunday and stay overnight, then travel back on Monday evening. This cost will come out of your net salary, and it will disrupt your weekend, but I think it's the best option. Also, Sunday night tends to be cheaper than Thu/Fri/Sat.

I did something similar for an inside contract (when I was in the office Mon-Fri), so one day a fortnight isn't as bad as that!

Yes i remember when i was a youngster, paying out of my own pocket to stay away Mon-Fri while on £200 a day inside! I’d have been delighted with one day a fortnight.

Luckily back then my personal outgoings were about £5.60 a month….

[Dorkeaux]

It's very possible that the client doesn't care if you show up on site or not beyond the first one or two visits.
That's my experience, contract terms or not.

Beyond that, I'd reconsider public transit. Agro to be sure, but safer and you might even get a nap in.

Not a bad situation, I've had colleagues commute every day from Birmingham and York(!!).
Also, pre-brexit weekly commutes from Barcelona etc.

Also, congratulations. Here is your banana:

[ladymuck]

At risk of sounding like I'm auditioning for the four Yorkshiremen sketch, once a fortnight is nothing!

When I lived in Sussex I used to drive to Heathrow every day, which could be 2h each way. Also used to drive to Chertsey every day, about 1h30m. I drew the line at driving to Swindon every day and stayed in a hotel during the week.

I also worked in Canary Wharf and I used to get the 0605 train to London Bridge that took 2h, plus the tube journey, and would sleep the entire trip and have fellow travellers wake me up if I didn't rouse myself.

You do get used to it but it is knackering. Weekends were often wiped out by time spent recovering.

After moving to the big smoke, to cut down on commuting time, I've ironically done more home working.

[ladymuck]

A more helpful response is to suggest you offer to do two consecutive days a month. Arrange to turn up a little later on day 1 but stay later, crash in a local hotel, start early on day 2 and leave early. That's the arrangement I made on my Swindon job so they knew Mondays I would be in late and Fridays I would be leaving early, and did longer days during the week while I was there.

[sadkingbilly]

ah, the Goddard Arms, Swindon. i remember it well