An employee at a client of mine has a problem (or annoyance) with offline files.  His "my documents" folder is redirected to, and synched, with his user files on the server.  He is frequently working offsite for a week at a time.  Whilst he can create a new file/folder and have these synchronise with the server when he is back in the office; he can't move, rename or delete files or folders unless he is online.  The message he receives is "This operation is supported only when you are connected to the server."

 

Is this normal behaviour and set in stone or can something be changed to make it posible?

No, that is not normal. Can you try to reset the contents of the offline cache as described here:

 

How to re-initialize the offline files cache and database:
http://support.microsoft.com/kb/230738