Travelling time

Travelling time may or may not count as working time for the purposes of the WTR regulations, depending on the circumstances. This can be a significant issue for workers whose job entails a lot of travelling, but where travelling is not the purpose for which they are employed (for example oil and gas workers on their way to an offshore field, or domiciliary care workers travelling to client’s homes).

Government guidance (available at: GOV.UK) includes job-related travelling time in its list of “what counts as work”, giving the example of sales reps (or, in earlier guidance, a 24-hour mobile repair worker); and any other time that is treated as ‘working time’ under a contract.

Normal travel to and from work and travelling outside of normal working hours doesn’t count as work. HSE guidance says: “Travel to work is not working time unless it is actually part of the work activity”.