Should employer pay for the travel time between jobs?

MacDaddy83

My wife works for a cleaning company that clean houses and she has to use her own car to get between jobs. As things stand she only gets paid for the hours she spends cleaning while in a clients house. I have 2 questions, first one being, Is she not entitled to claim something for having to travel to the houses whether it be a fuel allowance or even still get paid her hourly rate as she is technically still working travelling between jobs??? And secondly, a number of times her firm mess up and leave her waiting at a clients house unable to get in as previous cleaner didnt leave the key at the office, the hour she spends waiting for someone to turn up shouldnt she get paid for that???? as things stand like i say she only gets paid when in the house which i think is a total Joke. Any help or advice much welcomed.

Phil_68

Hi and welcome to the forum.

There are many issues here, first one is what does her contract say?
Is she employed or self employed?
How long has she been working for the company?

On a more important issue, has she insured her car for work purposes?

As cans of worms go, these types of jobs are usually full of them.

Phil.

sovilla

What does it say in her contract?

I don't get paid travel time however I do get mileage. However people who work on the bank don't get paid mileage but they get travel time. I guess it depends on her contract and what she signed up for. If she spends an hour waiting outside a house then I would say she is officially at work so should get paid for it. Is there a HR department there, might be worth having a word with them.

MacDaddy83

Not sure what her contract says at this moment in time but ill find out and get back to you. However she is employed and yes her car is insured for business purposes and she has been with the company about 9 months now.

I keep telling her that as she is at work whether inside the house or not she should get paid as it not her fault she cant get in yet she still has to stay until the job is done, so technically she can leave home at 9am not get in til 6pm having been working or travelling or waiting yet gets paid for five and a half hours work. Her boss is a cheap skate and wont listen so are there any legal grounds i can throw in her face?

Phil_68

MacDaddy83 wrote: »

Not sure what her contract says at this moment in time but ill find out and get back to you. However she is employed and yes her car is insured for business purposes and she has been with the company about 9 months now.

I keep telling her that as she is at work whether inside the house or not she should get paid as it not her fault she cant get in yet she still has to stay until the job is done, so technically she can leave home at 9am not get in til 6pm having been working or travelling or waiting yet gets paid for five and a half hours work. Her boss is a cheap skate and wont listen so are there any legal grounds i can throw in her face?

Unfortunately you're not her boss It really depends on her contract. It's not unheard of for 'mobile' workers to only get paid for the time at the clients, however it's not uncommon for this type of role to benefit the employer far more than the employee.

The bottom line is he is not forcing her to work, if she doesn't like the terms she can leave. Not ideal but let's get the facts of the contract first

Phil.

Takeaway_Addict

as well as the fact if she throws it in the face rather than talking like a normal human being she could end up being dismissed shortly after with very little protection in employment law.

MacDaddy83

Yes i am! lol

No she is not forcing her to work but she does force her to remain at the clients waiting for the key to turn up then forces her to stay until the contract hours on the house are done.

She hates it and i hate the way people can get away with taking the Michael out of others. She is looking to break out and set up on her own but til then guess i was just clutching at straws when clearly the laws are only their to benefit the rich or the people that do nothing! lol

Phil_68

I wear the trousers too, and I have my wife's permission to say so

The laws are there to protect the employee too, but without the contract facts we have a grumpy moan no offence intended

I feel that it won't bode well, many - far too many of these types of jobs are designed to benefit the employer, and if she didn't read her contract is her boss to blame?

Phil.

MacDaddy83

No she read the contract and wasnt happy with it but needed the work. i was just wondering if there was any legal side to whether she should be getting paid between jobs or while waiting. After all, if the contract breaches law then its not valid anyway

Phil_68

It may be that she is on a Zero hours contract, a complex and carp bit of working.

Have a look through her contract, it holds the key to the answers

306chris

Thing is though employers know that they can fill the job really quickly. I was paid in a similar way while doing self employed driving and it use to !!!! me right off when you were stuck at a dealers as if you weren't driving you weren't earning.