work expects me to work through unpaid dinner hour

A question about : work expects me to work through unpaid dinner hour

Wondering if anyone can give me advice. Im thinking of taking my dinner hour anyway but just want to make sure i cant get a diciplinary for it !

i work in a call centre for a major insurence company (not sure if im allowed to post their name)
On mondays i normally work between 8 - 5, with an unpaid dinner hour at 1:30 (and a paid 20 min break at 11:15).
Tomorrow, i am bein sent to hear a 'speach' by one of the main bosses, along with a few hundred other employees, all from different areas of the company. Its being held at a venue 45 mins from my normal place of work.
They are providing a coach, picking us up at 8:30 and will be dropped back off at work at 1:30.

Now we were told on friday that instead of getting a dinner hour on this day, we will be given a sandwich and bag of crisps to eat on the coach on the way back.
Is this legal?
I asked our union rep and she said its illegal but its too short notice for them to do anything about it.
It doesnt seem fair, since the dinner hour is unpaid
Also dont appreciate having to work 9 hours on just a sandwich and bag of crisps!

Also the part time people who normally finish at 12:30 are getting paid for an extra hour because they wont get back until 1:30.

I asked my manager if i could meet my collegue (who is also going) at 9 o clock near her house so she could drive us to the place where the speach is being held (it doesnt start until half 10). My manager said no, because my shift starts at 8 o clock, i have to come and take calls for the 1st half an hour.
If im spending a hour of my time travelling to my normal place of work, surely if they want me to travel to another place it should be done in their time ??

Best answers:

• What do you normally do for lunch?
• i work next to a shopping centre, we normally go to the canteen and eat and then wander round the shops, or sit in the breakroom chatting.
  its normally our own hour when we can do what we like
• It looks like you will be back at the normal time for your lunch break. Tell the guv that you are going to have your normal lunch break and refuse the sandwich? Do it by email, stick to your times to the minute and if you are refused, raise a grievance. It is still your time. Remember to check out the Working time Directive
• Your union rep is talking rubbish. He/she can do something right up until the moment you step off the bus at 1.30.
  I hope all the people who normally have lunchat 1.30 take your lead and follow you to the shopping centre.
• thanks for the replies.
  I needed to check we cant get in trouble for taking it.
  Hopefully can get everybody to protest it with me now i can reassure them !
• Lots of issues here. Did they give you an option on what you eat? Not everyone can eat sandwiches and crisps and would need a place to store their own food.
• Lets hope the speech is not about "Restructuring"
• For goodness sake, it's only an hour and presumably a one off so stop being such a moaning jobsworth.
• you getting paid to sit on a coach for an hour and a half so you cant really complain