Guaranteed Ride Home Policy
The Guaranteed Ride Home (GRH) scheme is provided to ensure that members of 'Community' can get home in the event of a home or family emergency, illness or a sudden change in the work schedule of either the Liftshare team driver or passenger during the working day.
Under the GRH policy, if a Liftshare team passenger is not able to share the journey home due to exceptional circumstances, and no practical alternative route home is available for them, they can be reimbursed for the journey home from their usual working premises by public transport and/or by taxi for actual expenditure.
To use the Guaranteed Ride Home scheme the following conditions must all be met:
- You must be a registered member of the relevant community of the Dorset NHS Liftshare scheme and work at that Trust. You must have formed a Liftshare team. A Liftshare Team is a team of 2 or more people that have searched, matched, and confirmed as sharing a journey;
- You must have already travelled from home to work as a Liftshare Team passenger on the day you require to use the Guaranteed Ride Home;
- You must be unable to share your journey from work to your home address as a Liftshare team passenger due to exceptional circumstances (see list below).
Valid exceptional circumstances:
- A home emergency (reported burglary, fire, flood etc.) requiring your immediate attendance;
- Personal illness or illness/injury of an immediate family member requiring your immediate attendance;
- An unforeseen work reason (certified by your Line Manager) which means you must stay at work for significantly longer than arranged to do unexpected business critical work;
- The unavailability of the driver for any of the above reasons at or within 30 minutes of the normal return home time; or
- The unexpected breakdown of, or accidental damage to, the Liftshare team driver's vehicle that renders it unavailable for use at or within 30 minutes of the normal return home time.
You are not eligible to apply if the circumstances could have been anticipated or planned for.
The following rules also apply:
- A stranded Liftshare Team passenger may ONLY use the GRH scheme for journeys directly from their usual work premises to their home address. However, an intermediate stop (maximum duration 10 minutes) is permitted if it relates to the emergency. For example, you may stop on the way home to pick up your child from school or from a designated carer. In extreme situations, the passenger may be taken directly to the hospital to see an ill/injured family member.
- The GRH scheme does not apply to the Liftshare Team driver. In the case of a personal emergency or delay finishing work, the driver is expected to use his/her own vehicle to return home. If the unavailability of the vehicle is due to breakdown or involvement in an accident, the driver is expected to make his/her own arrangements to retrieve it and return home.
- Liftshare Team passengers will not be reimbursed under the GRH scheme in a non-emergency situation. Non-emergency situations include, but are not limited to, the following:
- Previously scheduled medical appointments
- Personal errands
- Working late other than at a manager's request
- Business journeys
- Early office closure, for example due to extreme weather conditions, or building evacuation. In these circumstances, it is expected that the driver and any other Liftsharers will all leave at the same time and, therefore, can still Liftshare.
- You cannot claim for the journey from your home to work.
- If more than one passenger in a Liftshare team arrangement needs a GRH by taxi they should share one taxi ride home.
- Tips to taxi drivers are optional and are the responsibility of the employee.
Procedure
The procedure for if your Liftshare team driver is unable to get you home is as follows:
- Check with any other Liftshare team members what, if any, arrangements they are making to get home - you may be able to share their lift/taxi home;
- Speak to your Line Manager and confirm that the conditions above apply;
- Consider other options for getting home (i.e. using public transport).
Once you have explored all the above options, please proceed to book a taxi using the approved suppliers as detailed:
- UHD approved supplier details: PRC Streamline 01202 373737
Please save the taxi receipt for your expense claim.
How do I claim reimbursement?
Reimbursement will be claimed via the standard Trust Expense reimbursement process using Easypay.
Within Easypay, within the Expense Type drop down list options, select Guaranteed Ride Home. Do not choose Taxi.