Query re: Travelling Time

Fluffi

lucylucky wrote: »

It is work related travel and therefore should be paid.

And the travel expenses will have to be paid as well. Has that been mentioned?

No true ... all depends on your contract and as others have pointed out - travel time would only need to be paid if your contract says travel time should be paid or working the extra hours would push you below minimum wage. If your contract has a phrase in it to the effect "you will work extra hours when required by the business" and you aren't entitled to overtime then you'd just have to travel in your own time. Similarly a lot of contracts have a clause in them saying they can temporary vary your place of work.

That said a London based company is probably used employees commuting 2-3hrs a day so I wouldn't expect a a lot of sympathy for a 4-5hr round trip once a week!

Travel expenses should probably be paid though - otherwise you'll be out of pocket which seems a bit harsh.

liam8282

Maybe so, but those employees would be used to that commute, rather than a 20min car journey to a regular place of work.

I thought it was along the lines of a major change in your working conditions, for example somebody who was a manager of an office going in one day to be told they are now the cleaner.

I'll just tell the person to check out the links people have posted on here.

Thanks for the help.

lynzpower

I guess it depends how regular it is as well.

A one off- eg a training course once a quarter sort of thing, It would be AFAIUI fair, but the travel hours would be compensated, the cheapest way would probably be time off in Lieu. However if it was more frequent than that theres a question as to whether this forms a substantial change to contract that should have been recognised in the transfer process.

Is he in a union?

mgirl_2

It depends on what your contract says - like some peope get paid overtime, while some have contracts that require you to work the hours needed to do the job (notwithstanding the european working time directive...unless you sign that away). I travel most weeks. I don't get travel time.

lucylucky

mgirl wrote: »

It depends on what your contract says - like some peope get paid overtime, while some have contracts that require you to work the hours needed to do the job (notwithstanding the european working time directive...unless you sign that away). I travel most weeks. I don't get travel time.

Have you signed an opt-out from the WTR?

I would not expect people to get paid overtime for travel, unless it took you over an agreed number of monthly/weekly hours.

Something that is different from your normal commute should, IMO, be paid.

I think the OP was talking about a 4 hour journey each way, not round trip, but apologies if I have go that wrong. If that is the case it means 8 hours travel in addition to a "normal" working day of 8 hours which makes for a long day.

If the employer agrees that this should be paid then they may also have to take into account, length of day, rest period, extra meal breaks etc.

For the OP what, if any are the alternatives to travelling, for example would video conferencing be a possibility?

As others have suggested a close look at the contract would be well advised.

mgirl_2

No, I haven't signed away my WTD rights (and I wouldn't recommend it). It is simply a fact that if your contract says you get paid £x, no overtime, no travelling and you are expected to put in the hours required to do the job (within the WTD), then that's what happens. And I do agree that 9 to 5 plus travelling each way makes for a long day.

For the OP - if the contract of employment does not specify these things then look at - how others are treated, what has happened in the past. Also - are you in a union? If so ask the union rep, or contact them via the union website - unions usually have good legal advisors.

mgirl_2

These might help clarify things for your friend - the second site has a phone number you can call. Apparently I'm not allowed to post links, but try putting these in a search engine:

worksmart.org.uk what counts as working time

pay and work rights campaign direct.gov.uk

PasturesNew

I used to regularly have to go to the London office, for the day. This meant getting up at 4am, catching the first train out of the county (or driving the first 100 miles), then finally arriving home again at 11pm.

Another job had me in the office working 9-6pm, then loading up my car and driving up to Leeds (arriving at midnight), next day was travelling and the 3rd day was a full day's work on a client's site followed by a 6 hour drive home.

All travelling time in all my jobs has always been "tough t1tty, boo hoo ... you're lucky to have a job".

lucylucky

I was fortunate to live near my main place of work but travelled on a regular basis. I always got paid for my travel time, as did all of my colleagues.

Different people and companies work in different ways.

As long as your friend doesn't end up earning less than the NMW or breaking the WTR then it very much depends on their contract.

lynzpower

PasturesNew wrote: »

I used to regularly have to go to the London office, for the day. This meant getting up at 4am, catching the first train out of the county (or driving the first 100 miles), then finally arriving home again at 11pm.

Another job had me in the office working 9-6pm, then loading up my car and driving up to Leeds (arriving at midnight), next day was travelling and the 3rd day was a full day's work on a client's site followed by a 6 hour drive home.

All travelling time in all my jobs has always been "tough t1tty, boo hoo ... you're lucky to have a job".

I thought you were generally self-employed?