Is an employee entitled to be paid for travelling time?
It depends on the circumstances and the employment agreement between the employer and employee.
If the employer and employee have agreed that travel during working hours is part of an employee's normal work, then the employee should be paid for the time they take to travel from one site to another.
Payment for travel time in other situations is a matter between the employer and employee. For example, travel time to and from home can be paid if agreed between the employer and employee.
In addition to travel time, the employer and employee may agree to reimburse travel expenses, but this is not automatically granted by law. For example, when an employee has to work away from their normal work site, an employer and employee may agree that the employer will reimburse use of their personal vehicle or other means of transport to travel to that site.
Best practice is to discuss these issues and make sure that anything that is agreed is put in writing, so that everyone is clear as to when and how travel time and or expenses are paid.
The IRD has schedules of kilometre allowances on their website.
Date Modified: Monday, 25 March 2013
Disclaimer: The content on this website covers common problems. It will not answer every question
and should not be used as a substitute for legislation or legal advice.State sector employers
and employees may be affected by some differences in the laws that apply to them (e.g. State
Sector Act 1988).The Department of Labour takes no responsibility for the results of any actions taken
on the basis of information on this website, nor for any errors or omissions.
