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Calculating travel time pay for hourly employees can be a hassle. While it’s usually compensated, even that can vary widely by country and employer. As a business owner, knowing when, where, and how to pay hourly employees for time spent in transit is essential.
Whether a quick client visit across town or an international flight for a significant meeting, consultants and hourly, service-based team members are frequently on the move, but not every journey qualifies for paid time.
For payroll professionals, travel time pay can be a grey area that can lead to confusion, concerns around legal obligations, and damaged employee morale if not handled properly.
Suppose your business relies heavily on hourly, non-exempt employees. It's critical to define your travel time pay rules and policies clearly.
This guide will cover everything you need to know about travel time, pay rate, and labor laws on travel time. You’ll also learn to track business travel for hourly employees with the right systems and manage that time accurately.
Travel time pay is payment legally required for the time an employee travels to perform professional activities that their employer requested. It's most commonly applicable to businesses that employ hourly employees, but it's also relevant for salaried employees in certain situations.
According to Westlaw, the Portal-to-Portal Act states that employers are not required to pay for the time employees spend on activities occurring before or after performing the principal activities for which they are employed.
Travel time. Travel time is the total time spent traveling for work from one place to another.
Commute time. Commute time is the travel time between a person's house and their workplace, which is not factored into their pay.
Break and meal time. Employers must provide a 30-minute meal break after five consecutive work hours. Employers may also offer short breaks (5-20 mins) between work hours, which must be paid as part of employee work hours.
Overtime. Overtime pay is often a legal requirement for employers to provide for employees who work over 40 hours a week. Overtime pay mandates that employees get paid one and a half times (often called “time and a half”) their regular rates for working over the limit.
So, when does a commute become paid working time?
Travel time is only considered work time when employees must travel to complete their duties. Typically, it refers to time spent traveling to and from customer locations, Job sites, and branch offices. It's important to note that it does not include home-to-work travel.
For example, if an employee travels from one job site to another or attends a conference for work in a different country, the travel time would be considered work time.
Legal frameworks in the U.S., Canada, and the United Kingdom each have payment schemes for granting travel time pay for non-exempt team members who spend time on work-related travel. But here are specific definitions of what can be considered "work travel."
Travel time differs from break or meal time, but there can be an overlap. The U.S. Department of Labor states that any rest period less than 20 minutes or a more extended period during which the employee isn't fully relieved of duties must be paid.
If the employee needs to travel during a complete break or lunch period for work their employer has requested, then it is considered travel time, and they must be paid for it. You'll want a separate policy covering lunch breaks and rest periods to clear up any possible confusion.
Understanding different travel types in employee compensation is essential for crafting appropriate internal policies.
Involves commuting between different work-related locations within the same general area.
Compensation may depend on factors such as distance traveled and company policies.
Generally, regular commuting time from home to the primary workplace is not compensable.
Requires employees to travel for a specific project, meeting, or event.
Guidelines should address compensation for travel time and time spent at the destination.
Rates or compensation methods may be specified based on the nature of the assignment.
Involves more extensive compensation considerations.
Encompasses travel time, time spent at the destination, and accommodations.
Policies should address various aspects of compensation for overnight stays, ensuring fairness and compliance.
Traveling for work using a personal vehicle is typically compensated through a mileage allowance.
Employers often cover fuel costs as part of this allowance.
Additional travel pay reimbursements may include:
Vehicle maintenance expenses
Wear and tear related to business use
According to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA), only non-exempt (typically hourly workers) are entitled to pay for time spent traveling for work. Exempt employees (often in executive, administrative, professional, computer, and outside sales roles) are generally not entitled to travel pay.
Travel time pay rates and labor laws on travel time differ between countries and within the different states in the US. The FLSA travel time chart further outlines compensable time considered under FLSA.
In some places, travel rates have to be the same as those for regular working hours or at least the minimum wage rates. However, travel rates can also represent a percentage of the standard pay rates.
Pay rates: In several jurisdictions, travel time must be compensated at the employee's regular hourly rate (or at least the applicable minimum wage). Some employers may use a reduced rate if it is lawful and agreed upon in writing.
Travel time pay and mileage reimbursement: Employees using a personal vehicle for work-related travel are typically reimbursed per mile as a part of fuel allowance, based on IRS or local government rates. As of 2025, the U.S. IRS standard mileage rate is $0.67 per mile.
Reimbursements may also include:
Parking fees
Tolls
Fuel (if not using mileage rate)
Maintenance and wear-and-tear related damages
Travel time during an employee's regular work hours is paid at the fixed hourly rate.
Overtime pay only applies when travel time exceeds the total weekly work hours (40 or 8 hours per day).
The time overlapping with employees' usual work hours (including weekends) is compensable for overnight travel.
Some employers offer compensatory time off instead of pay for travel time, especially in the public sector.
This is time off given later, equal to the time spent traveling.
Compensatory time policies must comply with FLSA regulations and are usually not applicable in the private sector.
Should I get paid for travel time for training?
This is a common question among non-exempt hourly workers. The short answer is yes, but it depends on the specific circumstances of the hours worked.
Travel time during training is generally compensable when certain conditions are met. For example, training-related travel should be paid if:
The training is mandatory.
It is required for the job.
It occurs during regular work hours.
If the above conditions apply, travel to a training location in another city may also be considered paid time.
Time spent traveling from one work location to another is generally considered time that should be paid to employees. With some specific exceptions, time spent traveling from home to the job location and back is not paid. This is true even when employees use an employer-provided vehicle to commute home or to work (unless job duties are performed on said route home).
Paid travel time for non-exempt employees can include the following activities:
Driving to a different job site
Conducting work activities on a flight, bus, or train
Completing work-related tasks such as visiting institutions or collecting gear
Attending workshops, conferences, and events at the request of the employer
Ordering work tools from another location before the start of the workday at the job location
As for non-exempt overnight travel pay, employers must pay employees as they would for a typical working day, even if the trip falls on the weekend. The payment should be in addition to covering the travel expenses.
The employee is considered on duty since the purpose of the trip is work-related. The usual time for home-to-work travel (commuting) can be deducted from the total travel hours since it is not counted as paid work time.
Travel time pay is typically obligatory for non-exempt employees, both salaried and hourly employees. Exempt employees are considered those providing professional or managerial work.
While time spent traveling is often clearly included in the logged hours or as overtime for non-exempt salaried employees, the case with hourly employees can be more contentious. Despite that, hourly employees should also receive financial compensation for time spent on work-related travel.
For employers working with hourly staff, drive time is an indirect labor cost. Understanding and following local laws is crucial to ensuring payments are made when applicable.
A variety of professionals and specialists are entitled to work-related travel pay, like:
Travel time pay for construction workers. Those working in landscaping, maintenance, plumbing, electricity, HVAC, etc.
Medical care specialists. Nurses, home care professionals, etc. are entitled to travel pay when it’s work-related.
Service specialists. Those working in the service industry as professional cleaners, caretakers, etc.
The U.S. Department of Labor defines travel time in the Fair Labor Standards Act. The specific non-exempt employee travel policies, however, vary based on the state you're in. In many cases, states have additional rules regarding travel time pay. When there are both federal and state regulations, it's advised that employers follow the ones that are more beneficial for the employees.
The State Labor Offices and the Wage and Hour Division Local Offices are the best sources for information on the rules of each state and region regarding travel time pay.
Here are a few states that have their own additional regulations:
All travel outside of one's normal commute that is required by an employer is compensable in the state of California — including overnight, special assignments, out-of-town trips, etc. Travel time must be paid at the agreed-upon rate (or overtime rate). Employers can set different rates for travel time before starting the job execution, but they cannot be lower than the minimum wage rates.
In Florida, employees are generally paid for travel time during the regular workday. This includes travel between job sites or to special project locations outside the typical work area. However, the employer typically does not pay for daily commuting time, traveling from home to the regular worksite and back.
In New York, the regulations for paying the minimum wage include work-related travel. The wage has to be paid for travel time when traveling is part of the employee's duties.
Oregon legislation classifies four types of work travel time: portal-to-portal travel, travel between worksites, travel on special one-day assignments, and overnight travel. In general, travel time pay is due for all kinds except for portal-to-portal travel (work-to-home and home-to-work).
Nevada Law states that any time that qualifies as work travel time should be paid at minimum wage rates, at the very least. Any training requested by the employer must also be paid, as it is considered work time.
For hourly employees in Texas, travel time pay generally follows the FLSA rules for travel time pay. Employees travelling during work hours between different job sites or for special assignments must be compensated. However, the usual commuting time, traveling from home to the regular workplace, is not paid.
In Canada, travel time can count as paid work in certain situations when an employee:
Uses a company vehicle at the employer's request
Transports supplies or other employees to or from job locations
Has to travel to a location other than the usual location for work
Has to travel between different locations to execute regular work
The guiding principles when evaluating whether travel time has to be paid or not are:
Travel is inherent in the work
The work is commissioned and controlled by the employer
The employee is in charge of work tools or vehicles
As in the US, commuting to and from the usual work location is not considered paid travel time.
UK laws are an intersection of country-specific legislation, the European Union’s Working Time Directive, and a 2015 decision of the European Court of Justice.
Under UK laws and regulations:
Travel time between job sites and client locations during workdays is considered working time and must be paid. It also counts toward minimum wage and weekly working hour limits.
Time spent traveling to mandatory training, meetings, or assignments must also be paid.
Like with Canada and the U.S., regular commuting between home and the normal workplace is generally not paid.
The key principle: Travel necessary for performing work duties usually counts as paid time. When talking purely about commuting from home to the normal work site, it typically does not.
To calculate travel time for work, you need to identify which parts of an employee's travel are considered compensable under the labour laws and apply proper rates. Generally, commuting from home to the usual worksite is unpaid, but travel between job sites, to off-site meetings, or for special assignments typically must be compensated.
For instance, if an employee's workday starts at the office, travels to a client site 45 minutes away, and then returns to the office, the 90 minutes of round-trip travel are considered paid time.
However, if the employee drives from home to the regular office, that commute time is not paid.
A challenge for most business owners is calculating fair travel time pay and ensuring paychecks are on point.
Let's say:
An employee spends 2 hours traveling between multiple job sites in one day.
Their hourly wage is $20.
They drove 60 miles for these trips.
Travel Time Pay = 2 hours × $20 = $40
Mileage Reimbursement = 60 miles × $0.67 = $40.20
Total Compensation for Travel = $40 (wages) + $40.20 (reimbursement) = $80.20
Most employers don't cover commuting between employees' homes and work locations, as it's not legally required. Still, other work travel instances must be added to the employees' timesheets and paid following applicable laws and the company's policies.
Accurate travel time reporting can simplify travel time pay tracking. Employers should track and document all travel-related work time to ensure compliance with laws and fair employee compensation. Hubstaff's GPS time tracking and geofencing features can help ensure accuracy and reduce administrative overhead.
Hubstaff offers additional features that allow you to set different pay rates for travel and work hours to make time tracking and invoicing easier. It can also help you:
Deal with the intricacies of overtime pay
Plan your employees' routing and scheduling to optimize travel time
Ensure everyone can focus on doing work that really matters.
Accurately calculating travel time pay and properly recording each employee's normal work hours is essential to ensure fair compensation for hourly employees. Doing so keeps your business compliant with labor laws and helps build trust and transparency with your workforce.
Using a time tracking tool like Hubstaff can significantly streamline this process by eliminating manual errors that might otherwise result in underpaying or overpaying employees. Its GPS tracking feature ensures that every minute of work-related travel is accurately captured, providing detailed insights into hours spent on the road.
Unlike many other time tracking solutions, Hubstaff's robust GPS and geofencing capabilities offer precision that supports compliance and simplifies payroll for travel time, making it a smart investment for managing distributed or mobile teams.
Use Hubstaff to pay your team for the work they do in the air and on the road.