First hour is unpaid

stu12345_2

there is no local depot, in fact head office is over 250 miles away, my old boss went there to collect the van for me.

my workload is sent via email usually the day prior. there are fixed site employees that obviously make their own way to the site. but they obviously get paid for every hour on site, but not travelling time 
these staff tend to walk or drive say 10 mins to site, cos they tend to be part-time workers and it's min wage for them and they live local.

I mentioned it to a part-time , fixed site worker last night, she was shocked  about the deduction,and said the company have a high turnover of mobiles,( most resign,not sacked) cos of the length of their day and the total hours actually paid are relatively low,even though , the day is very long  and it's full-time job.

but as I'm full-time , but day can be easily 13 hours plus long, with big gaps, I tend to return home, maybe 3 times a day for between 40 mins and 2 hours , unpaid time.


some sites are between 15 and 55 miles from my home.

thus the numerous sites, the distances I cover, I need a works van and the amount of equipment I carry.
 even though I'm above min wage, but once the first hour is deducted, I'm below min wage, imo .
imo if the problem was unsafe equipment, tools or work practices, I would complain and they would have to fix it, even though I've only been there a few months, they wouldn't see it as an unreasonable complaint.

but , this deduction is making me think, should I or not complain, is it a worthwhile complaint. is my job at risk, being a newish employee.

or will employer think, we don't want to lose another newbie, as it's hard to keep staff.

prowla

Going to other than your place of work is work time.

stu12345_2

prowla said:

Going to other than your place of work is work time.

I'm classed as a peripatetic worker, so my question is , is my employer breaking employment law by deducting this first hour .

Acas, seems to more concerned if it takes me below min wage or above 48hrs worked.
their answer concerning , can they deduct the first hour is unclear, and they said it depends what's in the contract, even though employers can create contracts that are illegal, even big employers, they said.

even though it's in my contract they created.

Andy_L

stu12345_2 said:

prowla said:

Going to other than your place of work is work time.

I'm classed as a peripatetic worker, so my question is , is my employer breaking employment law by deducting this first hour .

Acas, seems to more concerned if it takes me below min wage or above 48hrs worked.
their answer concerning , can they deduct the first hour is unclear, and they said it depends what's in the contract, even though employers can create contracts that are illegal, even big employers, they said.

even though it's in my contract they created.

No. unless it takes you below NMW and it counts as actual working time (which can be a gray area for mobile workers)

stu12345_2

Andy_L said:

stu12345_2 said:

prowla said:

Going to other than your place of work is work time.

I'm classed as a peripatetic worker, so my question is , is my employer breaking employment law by deducting this first hour .

Acas, seems to more concerned if it takes me below min wage or above 48hrs worked.
their answer concerning , can they deduct the first hour is unclear, and they said it depends what's in the contract, even though employers can create contracts that are illegal, even big employers, they said.

even though it's in my contract they created.

No. unless it takes you below NMW and it counts as actual working time (which can be a gray area for mobile workers)

so basically an employer can create a contract for mobile employees with works van that states travelling to worksites are all unpaid, until you arrive at site, then you get paid and then it must be min wage at the site 

is that what you mean?

Andy_L

stu12345_2 said:

Andy_L said:

stu12345_2 said:

prowla said:

Going to other than your place of work is work time.

I'm classed as a peripatetic worker, so my question is , is my employer breaking employment law by deducting this first hour .

Acas, seems to more concerned if it takes me below min wage or above 48hrs worked.
their answer concerning , can they deduct the first hour is unclear, and they said it depends what's in the contract, even though employers can create contracts that are illegal, even big employers, they said.

even though it's in my contract they created.

No. unless it takes you below NMW and it counts as actual working time (which can be a gray area for mobile workers)

so basically an employer can create a contract for mobile employees with works van that states travelling to worksites are all unpaid, until you arrive at site, then you get paid and then it must be min wage at the site 

is that what you mean?

Yes.
Although it would have to be slightly more than "min wage at the site" to make up for unpaid travelling time if the travelling time should count as working time

stu12345_2

Andy_L said:

stu12345_2 said:

Andy_L said:

stu12345_2 said:

prowla said:

Going to other than your place of work is work time.

I'm classed as a peripatetic worker, so my question is , is my employer breaking employment law by deducting this first hour .

Acas, seems to more concerned if it takes me below min wage or above 48hrs worked.
their answer concerning , can they deduct the first hour is unclear, and they said it depends what's in the contract, even though employers can create contracts that are illegal, even big employers, they said.

even though it's in my contract they created.

No. unless it takes you below NMW and it counts as actual working time (which can be a gray area for mobile workers)

so basically an employer can create a contract for mobile employees with works van that states travelling to worksites are all unpaid, until you arrive at site, then you get paid and then it must be min wage at the site 

is that what you mean?

Yes.
Although it would have to be slightly more than "min wage at the site" to make up for unpaid travelling time if the travelling time should count as working time

or they could have min wage for both travelling time and when on site.

but does this mean my employer is legal in stating site work and traveling time are all paid at £12.50an hour except the first hour travelling time.

pinkshoes

Essentially you have the equivalent of a 30 minute commute each way which you don't get paid for (like most people) with the advantage of free fuel and no vehicle maintenance costs.

You then work 35 hours a week at £12.50 an hour. 35 x £12.50 = £437.50 a week.

If you counted the extra hour it would be a 40 hour week for the same money. £437.50/40 = £10.94 an hour so under minimum wage assuming you're over 21.

No idea what the law is to be fair but as most people have a commute with their own vehicle that would probably cost more in fuel and vehicle wear and tear and depreciation, then I'd probably not rock the boat!