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AIBU?

Share your dilemmas and get honest opinions from other Mumsnetters.

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Original poster

Time in lieu for travelling to work

166 replies

Snyder86 · 30/09/2021 13:27

Maybe someone can provide with some help or guidance.

I work for an online company where everyone works from home. Every couple of months the company does a company wide "get together" where they rent out a large accommodation and we are all expected to travel to this location and work together usually for 2/3 days.

The travel itself is reimbursed for mileage and any expenses. However travel time is not. We have a work meeting coming up in a couple of weeks and the location has been set at a whopping 6 hour drive from my home. After alot of persuasion the company has agreed to pay for 1 nights accommodation on the Sunday night so I can travel down on the Sunday afternoon. Instead of having to wake up at 2am to travel 6 hours in order to be onsite to work at 8am. However when we finish work on Wednesday 5pm. I'm expected to drive home for 6 hours after a full day work then be available to start the next day at 8am.

In my work contract it does state something along the lines of "you must be flexible as from time to time, you may be required to work reasonable additional hours for the proper and effective performance of your duties."

I think it is under this clause that they are saying that travel time is not reimbursable. However something about this seems inaccurate. All employees work from home, this isn't a choice. It's how the company runs, we don't have a work office as everything is based online. So my home is my fixed place of work. Surely travel to a compulsory meeting, if the mileage and expenses are covered than the travel time to and from the location should also be covered? I appreciate that in some contracts it says something along the lines of "additional work is not paid" when you are a salaried employee. However you can't be expected to work for free so in these instances you are given time back in lieu which is what I would have thought to be appropriate in my circumstances however I am unable to find any information to either support or dispute this.
It's a shot in the dark but maybe someone here has more of an idea as to whether I am out of line to ask for the 12 hours in total I will be driving to be given back in lieu.
Thanks in advance

OP posts:

BashfulClam · 30/09/2021 19:42

My husband drove from Glashow to Telford, leaving at 4am and getting home at 11pm. He wax paid mileage and expenses but nothing back for travel. I went to London for several
Weeks over 3 to 4 days and it was justvexirbses no extra pay or toil for travel.

Foolsrule · 30/09/2021 20:29

What happens if traveling on a weekend means you have to pay for childcare? Who covers that cost?

TheSmallAssassin · 01/10/2021 00:14

That should be your employer, @Foolsrule, but no doubt someone will be along to tell us we should just suck it up.

HollaHolla · 01/10/2021 00:23

@Foolsrule

What happens if traveling on a weekend means you have to pay for childcare? Who covers that cost?

I’m assuming childcare can be claimed for, for essential work travel; but a colleague did once try to claim for a cat sitter. Not sure if that was signed off, though!

TractorAndHeadphones · 01/10/2021 08:42

You should get time off in lieu. Maybe not the exact hours but come into work late

Upamountain43 · 01/10/2021 08:49

Everywhere i have worked this would automatically be TOIL - you could not have the first and last hour as it was expected that this was a reasonable commute time but everything else was TOIL whilst traveling. Overnight stays varied between two hours per overnight and 1/2 a day.

I have never worked anywhere where you were expected to do it all in your own time.

TheSmallAssassin · 01/10/2021 09:12

This reminds me of those threads where it slowly dawns on a woman that her partner is actually awful, as people weigh in to say that what he is doing is not normal. But here we have people arguing that it's right that some people are treated less than well by their employers, we should expect it! We deserve more, folks! Lots of companies manage to treat their employees with respect and value their time, expect more, not less!

SirChenjins · 01/10/2021 10:53

@TheSmallAssassin

Agree. Stop being complicit in your own subjugation - it shouldn't be a competition to see who can do the most unpaid work for their employer.

Mumontour85 · 01/10/2021 17:50

I would definitely expect the hotel to be paid Sunday through Weds, and for a late start at work on the Thursday, but not the rest.
How far is everyone else travelling? Are you the furthest away? Could you get a train? Might be faster and less exhausting than driving that long. And if you have no meetings on the Thursday morn, what's to stop you starting late if you WFH anyway?! I sometimes don't start until 11 at home, so I just work through til 7 instead of stopping at 5...

Sarbears28 · 01/10/2021 18:14

With my job we are expected to travel 4hours to a meeting but anymore we get to stay overnight prior and if it was a couple of days say Monday to Tuesday, we would be allowed to leave after 1pm on the Tuesday or if that wasnt possible and we had to stay until 5pm we would also stay that night in a hotel and travel back first thing Wednesday morning. The Wednesday would be classed as a half day unless we went back to work after travelling then we would be paid a full day. We also get a daily allowance for food and travel is paid for by my company.

EileenGC · 01/10/2021 18:17

I don't get paid for the time I spend travelling - unless it's an overseas performance tour of 2-3 weeks, where we'll get a flat rate on top of the usual salary.

But, it's specified in my contract and it's the rule in my industry. It's normal for us to get in at 1am from the other side of the country, and be up, out the door and ready for work, by 8am the morning after. Work is always out of the home and not always in the same venue or with the equipment provided by the contractor.

It's just the rule in my particular area of work.

cherish123 · 01/10/2021 18:17

Totally unreasonable! Are you in a union?

EileenGC · 01/10/2021 18:18

Forgo to say. Daily allowance + accommodation + travel all paid by the company as well, unless specified.

Mollymoostoo · 01/10/2021 18:23

Get advice from someone trained in employment law. Personally I think the travel is classed as work as it is necessary to get to the location and it would be dangerous for you to be expected to drive 6 hours after a full day at work. However you might have to book time off the next day if you wanted rest as that technically is your normal working pattern.

DriftingBlue · 01/10/2021 18:27

@Foolsrule

What happens if traveling on a weekend means you have to pay for childcare? Who covers that cost?

All part of professional life. You have to figure out child care, pet sitters, etc. At one job, I had a colleague who had his mail collected by a service, kept no perishable food at home, and lived in a flat with no plants because he traveled so much. I quickly realized I did not want to aspire to be him or any of the other star players at the firm who all had their own versions of lifestyle modification. For most of them it was a soon to be 2nd ex-wife who took care of everything.

gogohm · 01/10/2021 18:34

Whilst it sounds tough, most people travel 30-60 mins each way every day so you are better off than most and knew the situation before you joined. Dp travels on Sundays often (well ore pandemic) and so time off extra though his boss did pay for me to come too once including my hotel expenses eg meals so not complaining

pinkpirlie · 01/10/2021 18:47

In all my jobs, travel time & expenses over and above my normal home to office time & expenses has always been counted as work hours and taken back in lieu and mileage reimbursed.
This however, has always been set out as a policy in advance in a travel policy.
Does your company have one of these you can refer to?
Six hours each way seems an awful lot of time to expect you to travel in your own time, and then start work again the next morning.

Supermum29 · 01/10/2021 18:51

I’m surprised by the responses here.

If you are expected to travel to an alternative location that is not your usual working location then the travel should be considered working time. I would expect to get some of that time back even more so if it’s 6 hours of driving!!

I have done this frequently in my role and do get toil for travel time.

Please also ensure that you have your 11 hours rest between working time. You also need to check you won’t exceed the 48 hours legal working time unless you have an agreement in place to opt out of this. If you haven’t/don’t sign an opt out your working hours should be reduced to incorporate the travel/working time. I would suggest you check your contact, also acas helpline is good for advice.

EileenGC · 01/10/2021 19:13

Some days I'm lucky if I get 7 hours rest between my working times. Granted, I do a mix of freelance and contracted but even if I only did contracted, I'd often have similar hours.

If you are expected to travel to an alternative location that is not your usual working location then the travel should be considered working time.

Maybe in an office-based job or something along those lines, it is. Not in my industry (performing arts). It's your responsibility to arrange and pay for travel to get yourself to a different city or venue if working away from your usual location. Unless again, you're going there with your main employer who will then take responsibility for this.

What people are saying is that not everyone has a 9-5 job in one single location/city, so different conditions apply.

TintinIsBack · 01/10/2021 19:44

In some roles, this would be expected. Usually roles that are nit higher up (eg engineer etc…).

In all the roles I have been before, itnwouod have been normal to pay for the hotel the night before and also normal for you to travel ‘for free’ the day before.
I would also have expected them to be happy with you turning later the day after after travelling in the evening.

However, I have to say, some companies do take the safety of their employees seriously and would check that travelling back is ok. Some companies aren’t (I’ve worked in both types). I have found that the ones that tend to be tight around those things are usually those who aren’t used to people travelling around (which might well be the case for your company if everyone is wfh)

TintinIsBack · 01/10/2021 19:46

@Supermum29

I’m surprised by the responses here.

I have done this frequently in my role and do get toil for travel time.

I have been a quality engineer for years and travelled to see customers all over Europe/world. DH has had some customer facing work and has travelled extensively too to go and see them.

It certainly has been the case that travelling in your own time was normal. And so was arriving late at night and starting the day normally the day after.
If I had been given time in lieu, I wouldn’t have spent much time in the office tbh!

JesusIsAnyNameFree · 01/10/2021 20:12

We don't get that time back, even when we spend weeks on a different continent. It is what it is.

UntilYourNextHairBrainedScheme · 01/10/2021 20:35

The OP only posted the opening post.
Interesting.
Race to be the most subjugated is interesting too. You aee exactly the same thing in the cool girl "I don't see an issue, I wouldn't mind my partner emptying our joint account to buy prostitutes and crack cocaine then sleeping over in the same bed as his ex for a few weeks after six consecutive stag weekends and working away in between while I work a 60 hour week oand do/ pay for all childcare for our 5 preschool children, it's called trust/ love/ being a grown-up" threads.

Everydayzero · 01/10/2021 22:05

I think you legally entitled to 11 hours between work, at the firm I work for sometimes you might skip that if work was really busy but would be expected to take extra break after that.
I remember having to fly to another office on a Sunday and got my overtime rate for travelling.

starfishmummy · 01/10/2021 22:08

Not been reimbursed but employer was flexible with things like hotel stays if early start or travelling in work time etc.

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