Round #980

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

I am not a lawyer, but I can provide information based on UK employment law as of June 2024. **Key Points:** - The National Living Wage (NLW) is the minimum hourly rate that most workers in the UK are entitled to. - Under UK law, *working time* for the purposes of the NLW includes time spent travelling between clients during the working day (but not commuting from home to the first client or from the last client back home). - The relevant legislation is the National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015. **What this means for care workers:** - If your care workers are required to travel between clients as part of their job, the time spent travelling between clients **must be counted as working time** for NLW calculations. - If you do not pay them for this travel time, you risk paying them less than the NLW, which is unlawful. **Example:** If a care worker is scheduled for 6 hours of client visits and spends 2 hours travelling between clients, they must be paid for 8 hours at least at the NLW rate. **References:** - [GOV.UK: Calculating the minimum wage](https://www.gov.uk/minimum-wage-different-types-work/working-hours) - [Acas: Travel time and the National Minimum Wage](https://www.acas.org.uk/national-minimum-wage-entitlement/travel-time) **Summary:** If you are not paying care workers for the 30 minutes spent travelling between client visits, this is likely **unlawful** under UK law. You should review your pay practices to ensure compliance. **Recommendation:** Consult with an employment law specialist or contact Acas for tailored advice.

No, it is generally unlawful in the UK to pay care workers only for contact time and not for travel time between clients if this results in their average pay falling below the National Living Wage; travel time between appointments should be counted as working time for minimum wage calculations.