travel to and from work

[grngriff]

hi query really
Im a paid employee,say contracted to do a 40 hour week,i get a company van which is now tracked but im expected to get to site by alotted start time say 7am and stay there for my 8 hours,
The question is my site could be 15 mins away(local) very rare or 2 hours away but i am expected to do all the traveling for nowt,is this right ??

[fergywales]

Yes.

[grngriff]

even though my office of employment is 5 mins away?

[fergywales]

Does your contract state a specific location that you permanently work from? If not, then your journeys are just commutes to your place of work, and employers are not required to pay for this time nor are they claimable under expenses.

[Mojooo]

In my job we are not allowed to claim time for journeys to our normal place of work but we are if we go anywhere else that is further away.

However I doubt there are any hard and fast rules and they can probably ask you to do it depending on the nature of your job if its in the contract.

Not sure I would like it if I was losing a lot hours a day to commuting and it wasn't made clear when I joined.

[grngriff]

thanks for that, it clears that up
Its been an ongoing debate for years on our company

[grngriff]

the pinch for us is that a few are expected to do the traveling,while other collegues on the same pay do not.
So some of us are doing at least 10 to 15 hours more a week.

[rog007]

When you took on the role, your normal place of work would have been specified. It's up to you how close you decide to live near your workplace; your commuting time is up to you and done in your own time. If however your role requires you to travel to other places on temporary duty, I would expect a quality employer to allow you to travel in work time. This should all be in your contract and in fact should have been clear in the job description you originally applied for. Why this is important is H&S; if you're traveling as a result of your work and have an accident where tiredness was a factor, if your employer is expecting excessive work and travel hours they could be liable.

[moleamol]

grngriff said:

the pinch for us is that a few are expected to do the traveling,while other collegues on the same pay do not.
So some of us are doing at least 10 to 15 hours more a week.

So move closer to work.

[Mojooo]

moleamol said:

So move closer to work.

By the sounds of it he is close to his work place - just not the sites he is being sent to.

[moleamol]

Mojooo said:

moleamol said:

So move closer to work.

By the sounds of it he is close to his work place - just not the sites he is being sent to.

What you said then. I'll read it properly next time.

[grngriff]

the problem is that my contract was issued 12 years ago and for the life of i cant recall the details and others have no contracts
Dont get me wrong,ive done the traveling for years so doesnt really bother me but because i hold a senior roll,i am caught between my managers and employes so was curious
Thanks for the input

[TurricanII]

As before, check your contract, but I have chatted with a previous boss and was able to get half a day off for every day I spent five hours commuting

[Sossige]

grngriff said:

the problem is that my contract was issued 12 years ago and for the life of i cant recall the details and others have no contracts

HR should keep a copy of the contracts you signed - it's good practice for an employee to sign two copies, one for them and one for the company. You should be able to request a photocopy I would have thought.

I am not an employment solicitor (so would recommend that people speak to one) but I do know that the concept of "implied terms & conditions" exists where someone works for a period of time with certain conditions, responsibilities etc. A solicitor should be able to advise.

[Johnnytheboy]

We expect staff to work the same length of day (8.5 hours + normal commute time) if working off site as if they were spending a day in the office.

I live an hour away, so if I go straight to/from a site, a normal working day is 10.5 hours. Most people live a lot closer so can work a shorter day.

We have two staff who don't ever work from site as they live a long way away. they are expected to work their hours plus up to an hours travel time, but in reality this is rarely required.

Any whinging is met with an offer to let them drive their own car to work and pick a van up every day.

[Mr AJ]

In both my last two jobs i've been expected to travel nationwide to be on-site with customers from 9am. The last place paid me overtime from leaving my house (Or hotel) If before 9am then normal rate 9-5 and then overtime from 5pm -> me arriving at my hotel/home. Often made more money from driving than actually working (4am-11pm!)

Current place dont pay for travelling time but give me time-off when im supposed to be in the office instead (Or have my travel down during office hours, stay overnight and then go to the customer site first thing in the morning)