Four in 10 staff unaware of paid travel time entitlement

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Four in 10 workers wrongly believe they are not entitled to a minimum wage for the time they spend travelling between assignments, highlighting the need for employers to check they are fully compliant with wage rules. Under national minimum wage (NMW) and national living wage (NLW) legislation, workers have the right to be paid for the time they spend travelling between different assignments during their working day. However, a poll of 2,001 workers commissioned by Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy (BEIS) found 39% of staff were not aware they had this entitlement. Older workers were less likely to be aware of this right, with 52% of 55-64 year olds thinking they should not be paid for travel during work hours. Only 31% of 16-24 year olds had this misunderstanding. Awareness of the requirement was more prevalent among male staff (54%) than female (36%). The poll was commissioned as part of BEIS’s campaign to raise awareness of NMW and NLW compliance, which encourages all workers to check their payslips for any irregularities and offers advice on how they can handle any issues. All workers, regardless of their employment status, have been entitled to a payslip since 6 April.

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Non-compliance

HM Revenue & Customs said around £24.4 million in back pay is owed to more than 220,000 workers who have not received the minimum wage. This is up from £15.6 million last year. A total of £17 million in penalties have been issues to employers that have failed