Round #472

We pay our care workers the national living wage but they spend 30 minutes travelling between client visits unpaid. Is this lawful?

**No, this is not lawful.** Under UK law (National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015), time spent travelling **between client visits** during a care worker’s shift counts as “working time” for National Living Wage (NLW) purposes. ### Key rules - Travel between assignments (e.g., the 30 minutes between clients) must be included when calculating whether the worker has received at least the NLW. - Only the initial journey from home to the first client and the final journey home from the last client are excluded. - If you only pay for the time spent at the client’s home and leave the inter-client travel unpaid, the worker’s **effective hourly rate** will usually fall below the NLW once the travel time is factored in. This is a breach of the minimum wage rules. ### Practical consequence Example (simplified): - 6 hours of client visits paid at NLW. - 1 hour of unpaid travel between visits. - Total working time = 7 hours. - Pay ÷ 7 hours < NLW → unlawful underpayment. HMRC (which enforces the NLW) has pursued many care providers for exactly this practice. Workers can also bring claims in the employment tribunal for up to 6 years of arrears plus penalties. ### What you must do - Record and pay for all travel time between clients (or use a system that guarantees the effective rate never drops below the NLW). - Keep accurate records of both visit time and travel time. This is a well-established area of enforcement; continuing the current arrangement risks back-pay claims, penalties, and reputational damage.

**No, this is not lawful.** Under the National Minimum Wage Act 1998 and the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015, time spent travelling between client visits during a working day counts as **working time** for National Living Wage (NLW) purposes. ### Key rules that apply here - **Travel between assignments** is treated as hours worked when the worker is travelling from one client to another as part of their duties. - You must include this travel time when calculating whether the worker has received at least the NLW for every hour worked. - If the unpaid 30-minute travel periods mean the worker’s effective hourly rate drops below the NLW, you are underpaying them. ### Practical effect Suppose a care worker is paid the NLW for 6 hours of direct care time but spends an extra 2 hours travelling between visits. Their actual working time is 8 hours. Paying them only for the 6 hours will almost always result in an hourly rate below the NLW once the travel time is factored in. ### What you must do - Pay for the travel time at least at the NLW rate (or include it in a salary or other arrangement that still meets the NLW when averaged). - Record the travel time accurately. - Many care providers either: - Pay a fixed travel allowance per visit, or - Build an average travel time into the paid hours, or - Pay for actual travel time. Failing to do so can lead to back-pay claims, enforcement action by HMRC, and potential employment tribunal claims. This is a very common issue in the care sector and one that HMRC actively investigates. **Recommendation**: Review your current payment structure with an employment lawyer or payroll specialist who understands the care sector, and adjust pay so that all working time (including inter-client travel) is covered at or above the NLW.