Unpaid travel time

[lucie333]

Looking for some advice. I started my job as a home carer 2 weeks back I had no idea we didn't get paid for travel time, no one told me this nor does it state it in my contract? So I work from 3:45 to 22:00 and only get paid for 4 hours because that's how long all my visits for the evening total to. I'm a walker and some of my visits are 1.2 miles apart I have 8 visits within the time frame. Is it worth it?

I'm sure they should be paying you for travel time as you don't have a fixed place of work.

There was a whole thing when DH was a plumber that because he had to go to different sites everyday, he didn't have a fixed place of work and therefore was paid from the minute he left the house as it couldn't be considered a commute. Have a look here www.acas.org.uk/working-time-for-someone-who-travels-for-their-job

I don't think any care agency is going to pay you travel time when you walk between clients...

What does your contact state with regards to pay and travel etc?

The law says otherwise.

The care agency will just stop offering her shifts over paying out for walking time...it sucks but that's how they work a worker complains and they loose shifts

No good until you do pass your test & get a car, but once you do look at Local Council carer roles. I worked recently for my local county council on the admin side of the Enablement service, where short term care is provided for (mostly) elderly people who have had an accident or come out of hospital, or need a short period of care for assessment.

The pay is above minimum wage, mileage paid, and you're paid for your shift however busy/not busy you are e.g. 8-1 shift you'll be paid 5 hours even if you only have 4-5 calls in that time.

Have you got their advert.

I would put your hours in to include the time walking from client 1 to 2 etc and back claim it

I worked as a Community Carer for 10 years, loved the job. All the agencies I worked for were the same, didn't pay for travelling time. You might be better to work in a care home, where at least you're in one place.

Whatever not? (Not withstanding the fact that it's illegal). A carer can't teleport themselves between houses. Plus, carer visits are, in the vast majority of cases, set for a particular time, so she can't zoom between to get them done sooner.
Of course she should be paid for time spent going from one visit to the next

I never said travel time shouldn't be paid I said no care agency will pay walking travel time as it obviously means paying out more as walking is slower than driving.

@amy85 the OP said the job advert asked for a walker.
Her visits will be (certainly should be) at set times.
The agency need to stipulate what is the acceptable length of time to get from job 1 to job 2...etc, and then pay her for that.
If they were expecting a driver and she had to walk then fair enough, pay less. But if they knew she was a walker, and that was agreed from day one, then time between visits must be paid.

Yes they have to pay you for your travel time. Make a note of all the time you spend travelling and take them to the small claims court when you leave. thats what I did. We settled out of court and they paid me for all my travel time.

Well because in a 8hr15m shift OP is only working for four hours because she is walking inbetween visits. She spends more time walking than she does working, the law does say that the time should be paid, but at the same time this doesn’t seem like the employer is getting value for money. What if she walked really slowly and only spent two hours working, should she still be paid for 8 hours of work. I guess the answer is yes, but if I were the employer I would say the arrangement simply isn’t working and a car is required.

The company I work for don't pay walkers for their time walking between clients
They do pay a mileage allowance of 40p per mile if you drive ( not first journey from home)
We also don't get paid for any waiting time between clients so on a weekend it's common to be out for say 6 hours paid for 4 hours
They do pay fairly well so it is worth it

God that's awful. I get paid to travel to other offices when I am going to locations I'm not pinned to (I have to minus my journey to my usual place of work) I get the fuel paid for too.

Is this really usual in care work??

That doesn't change the fact that it's illegal not to pay for travel, though.

RTFT.

They advertised for a walker and knew OP was a walker when they offered her the job.

This

It doesn't matter if it's 'usual' for care work....it's exploitative. They only get away with it because it's typically foreigners and women doing these jobs.

In employment and self-employment commuting to and from a usual place of work isn't claimable but travelling to different sites within that job absolutely is

@Aprilx

"Well because in a 8hr15m shift OP is only working for four hours because she is walking inbetween visits. She spends more time walking than she does working, the law does say that the time should be paid, but at the same time this doesn’t seem like the employer is getting value for money. What if she walked really slowly and only spent two hours working, should she still be paid for 8 hours of work. I guess the answer is yes, but if I were the employer I would say the arrangement simply isn’t working and a car is required."

The agency advertised for a walker.
The visits she's assigned will be for specific times.
Her employer needs to specify acceptable (and realistic) travelling time between visits and pay for that.
Car mileage is separate. That's to help pay towards petrol and car upkeep costs, not to pay for the workers time.

I have read the full thread and indeed saw that bit, thank you.

But clearly they made a mistake and it is ok to acknowledge that and take corrective action. Or should an organisation be required to continue with a mistake for all time? If somebody is spending more time walking than working, it suggests a car is required.

If it's a mistake they've made, then yes, of course it's a mistake they need to pay for.

That doesn't mean it needs to be permanent, though - going forwards, they may need to change OP's route so that she does more visits with less travel, or alter her shift times so she can use public transport.

But for now, they need to cough up and pay her travel time. They advertised a walker and got one, but that doesn't mean they get out of paying what they're legally obliged to pay.