Travel Time And Pay For Mobile (Peripatetic) Workers In New Zealand

If your business relies on staff who travel between sites, visit clients, or work “on the road” (for example: trades, home care, technicians, delivery teams, sales reps, cleaners, and field service workers), you’ve probably asked the same question at some point: when does travel time count as paid work?

This is exactly where many small businesses can get caught out. Pay travel time incorrectly and you could face wage claims, disputes, and a damaged working relationship. Pay it too generously without a plan and you can quietly blow out your labour costs.

In this guide, we’ll walk you through the practical legal issues New Zealand businesses need to understand about travel time pay for mobile workers, and how to set clear rules from day one.

What Counts As “Travel Time” For A Mobile Worker?

“Mobile” or “peripatetic” workers are employees whose job isn’t tied to one fixed worksite. Their work often involves travel as a core part of their role.

In practice, travel time might include:

• Travelling from home to the first client or job of the day
• Travelling between client sites during the day
• Travelling from the last job back home (or back to your depot/office)
• Picking up tools/stock from your premises before heading out
• Driving a company vehicle between locations
• Travel to training, meetings, or “one-off” tasks outside the usual pattern
• Overnight travel for work (including travel outside ordinary hours)

Not all of this travel will automatically be paid time. The key is working out whether that time counts as work (for example, because the employee is required to be available, follow instructions, or perform tasks) versus ordinary commuting, and then making sure your arrangements still meet minimum legal standards (including minimum wage) once the employee’s hours worked are properly assessed.

Because this issue is so fact-specific, it’s worth ensuring your Employment Contract is clear on how travel time is treated, rather than relying on assumptions or “industry practice”.

When Does Travel Time Need To Be Paid In New Zealand?

There isn’t one single rule that fits every situation. Whether travel time is treated as paid work often depends on the full context and (among other things):

• what your worker is required to do
• what level of control you have over their time and movements
• whether travel is integral to performing the job
• whether the employee is “at your disposal” during the travel (for example, required to be available for direction or performing work tasks)
• what the employment agreement says (as long as it still meets minimum entitlements)

That said, there are some common scenarios where travel time is much more likely to be treated as paid work time (or where the minimum wage risk becomes much higher if you don’t pay it).

Travel Between Jobs During The Workday

If the employee is travelling between client sites/jobs during the day as part of performing their duties, this is commonly treated as work time.

Why? Because the travel isn’t the employee choosing how to get to work - it’s your business directing them to move between work locations to deliver the service.

From a business perspective, the risk is straightforward: if you treat inter-job travel as unpaid “break time”, you can end up underpaying wages (and potentially falling below minimum wage once travel is taken into account).

Travel To A Required Pick-Up Point (Depot, Office, Warehouse)

If the employee must first attend your business premises to:

• pick up a vehicle
• collect tools, stock, or equipment
• receive instructions
• load/unload

…then, in many cases, the workday effectively starts at that point (and the travel from that point onward is generally easier to classify as work time).

Where businesses get stuck is when a worker sometimes starts at home, sometimes starts at the depot. If you’re doing that, your agreement and your payroll process need to match the reality of how you run jobs.

Travel From Home To The First Job (And Back From The Last Job)

This is one of the biggest grey areas for small businesses.

Ordinary home-to-work commuting is typically unpaid. But for mobile workers, the “first job” might not be a fixed workplace - and your worker might be required to travel to a client location that changes daily.

Some factors that can (depending on the full context) push this travel towards being treated as “work” include:

• the employee is required to be contactable or “on duty” during travel (not just voluntarily reachable)
• the employee has to transport work equipment as a requirement of the role
• the employee must use a work vehicle and follow specific business instructions about routes/timing
• the employee has to perform tasks during travel (calls, job reporting, admin)
• the travel is unusually long or outside the normal area because of business needs

On the other hand, if the travel looks and feels like commuting (employee chooses how to get there, no work tasks required, travel is similar to what they’d do for any job), it is more likely to be treated as unpaid commuting.

Because this area is so fact-dependent, it’s important not to rely on a blanket rule. This is where a tailored approach matters - a “one line” travel clause can cause confusion later when things change (like expansion into a new region or new service offerings).

Travel For Training, Meetings, Or One-Off Assignments

If you require employees to attend training, meetings, or a special job site that’s not part of their usual pattern, travel time may be treated as paid time depending on the circumstances (including whether attendance is mandatory, whether the employee is travelling at your direction, and whether the time would be considered part of their “hours worked”).

If training or special assignments push total hours up for the week, you may also need to think about overtime arrangements and payroll settings. It can help to set expectations early using a policy and contract terms that align with your pay structure (including whether any overtime rates apply). Your approach should also be consistent with your obligations around hours and pay, including the minimum standards under New Zealand employment law.

How Minimum Wage And “Hours Worked” Create Real Risk For Small Businesses

Even when an employment agreement says certain travel time is unpaid, you still need to be careful that your pay practices don’t result in an employee earning less than they’re legally entitled to once you consider what counts as their hours worked in practice.

Two common problem areas we see:

1) Piece Rates Or Per-Job Pay (Where Travel Is Significant)

If you pay “per job” or use productivity-based pay, travel time can reduce the effective hourly rate. If a worker completes fewer jobs because travel between them is long, the business can unintentionally create a minimum wage issue.

In other words: you can’t contract out of minimum standards by calling time “travel” instead of “work” if, in reality, the employee is required to travel in order to perform the work and that time forms part of their “hours worked”.

2) Fixed Salaries (Where Days Blow Out)

For salaried employees, travel-heavy roles can quietly push total hours well beyond what you intended. That can lead to disputes about:

• whether the salary properly compensates for all hours worked
• whether additional hours should be paid (or whether time off should be provided)
• whether the workload is reasonable

It’s often worth having a clear approach to additional hours and how they’ll be managed. Depending on your business model, you may deal with this by paying additional hours, or by offering structured Time Off In Lieu where appropriate and properly documented.

If overtime is part of the role (or becomes part of the role due to travel), spelling out expectations and pay treatment helps reduce disputes later. Many businesses also align this with their approach to Working Overtime so there’s no confusion about what happens when a day runs long.

Common Scenarios (And Practical Ways To Handle Them)

Because mobile workforces vary so much, it helps to think in scenarios. Here are some of the most common situations for New Zealand businesses, and how to approach them in a practical, defensible way.

Scenario A: Technician Drives From Home To Customer Sites

Typical setup: the technician keeps the work van at home, drives to the first job, then travels job-to-job, then drives home.

Good practice options:

• Pay from the first job start time, and also pay travel between jobs (often the most straightforward), or
• Pay from “clock on” time when the worker begins work duties (for example, when they’re required to log into a system, review jobs, or load tools), and define how that is recorded.

Watch-outs: If your tech is required to take calls, do job admin, or follow strict dispatch instructions during the first drive, the business may be exposed if you treat that whole period as unpaid commuting.

Scenario B: Care Or Support Worker Travelling Between Clients

Typical setup: workers travel between multiple clients across a day; travel is necessary to deliver services.

Good practice options:

• Set a clear rule that travel between clients is paid time, and make sure rosters and job allocations are realistic.
• Build travel into scheduling so workers aren’t forced to “steal” time from breaks or personal time to stay on track.

Watch-outs: Back-to-back bookings with no travel allocation is a common source of disputes (and can create health and safety risks if it encourages rushing or unsafe driving).

Scenario C: Employee Must Come To The Depot First

Typical setup: staff start at your premises to load up, then head out to jobs.

Good practice options:

• Define the depot as the start of the paid workday, and treat travel after that point as work travel.
• Use consistent time recording (timesheets, app clock-in, vehicle GPS policies if used lawfully and transparently).

Watch-outs: If staff are regularly required to start early at the depot but you only pay from the first job arrival, that can create underpayment risk.

Scenario D: Overnight Travel Or Long-Distance Jobs

Typical setup: a team travels to another region, stays overnight, and works the next day.

Good practice options:

• Set rules about what portions are paid (for example, travel during normal working hours), and what allowances apply (meals, accommodation, incidentals).
• Clarify whether the employee is genuinely “free to do what they like” outside working hours, or whether they’re on standby/required to remain available (which can affect whether time is treated as working time).

Watch-outs: Overnight travel and long-distance driving can raise complex questions about what counts as “hours worked”, particularly if employees are required to travel at specific times, remain available, or are not meaningfully free to use the time as their own. If you expect employees to drive long hours on top of a full workday, that can also create serious fatigue and safety issues. Under the Duty Of Care employers owe, you’ll want systems that manage fatigue risk, not just payroll compliance.

Setting Clear Rules: Contracts, Policies, And Record-Keeping

The businesses that handle travel time well usually do two things:

• they set a clear, written approach from the start, and
• they make sure their payroll and scheduling practices match what’s written.

If you’re employing mobile workers, your employment documentation should clearly cover:

1) What Counts As Paid Time

For example:

• travel between jobs is paid
• travel from home to first job is/ isn’t paid (and when exceptions apply)
• time spent loading/unloading is paid
• time spent completing required job admin (even at home) is paid

This is often best documented in an Employment Contract plus a workplace policy that gives examples and explains how to record time.

2) How Time Is Recorded

Mobile roles can create messy records. If there’s a dispute later, time records matter.

Common options include:

• timesheets approved weekly
• job management software check-in/out times
• vehicle logs (where appropriate)
• clear “start work” and “finish work” definitions

If you do use tracking technology (like GPS), it’s important to think about privacy and transparency. If your team works remotely or partly from home (for example, logging in from home before driving), you may also want consistency with your broader approach to Working From Home arrangements.

3) Allowances And Reimbursements

Even where travel time isn’t paid as hours worked, you might still offer (or be required to provide under the agreement) reimbursements or allowances, such as:

• mileage reimbursement where employees use their own vehicles
• tool/equipment allowances
• meal allowances for long-distance travel
• parking and toll reimbursements

The main thing is to keep these consistent, documented, and applied fairly. If allowances are meant to cover expenses, make sure they’re clearly labelled and supported by your payroll records. (This article is general information only and isn’t tax advice - if you’re unsure about the tax treatment of allowances, reimbursements, PAYE, or KiwiSaver, get advice from an accountant or tax adviser.)

4) Managing Additional Hours And Schedule Changes

Travel-heavy work often involves last-minute changes: urgent jobs, cancellations, traffic delays, and client no-shows.

If you need staff to adjust their hours or routes, make sure you handle changes lawfully and consistently (especially if you’re changing agreed hours). For example, if you’re considering roster changes that reduce paid time, it can be worth checking your approach against your wider plan for Reducing Staff Hours so you don’t accidentally trigger a dispute about contractual hours.

Employees Vs Contractors: Why Classification Matters For Travel Pay

Some businesses try to avoid travel pay issues by engaging workers as contractors instead of employees.

This can be legitimate in the right circumstances - but it can also be risky if the worker is really operating like an employee (fixed schedule, controlled work, integrated into your business, no real ability to subcontract, and so on).

If someone is misclassified as a contractor, your business can end up facing claims for:

• holiday pay and leave entitlements
• minimum wage shortfalls
• PAYE and KiwiSaver issues
• other employee entitlements that were not provided

Before assuming a contractor model solves the travel time problem, it’s worth pressure-testing the arrangement. The distinction between Contractor vs Subcontractor (and employees vs contractors) can be more complicated than people expect, and the consequences of getting it wrong can be expensive.

Even where the worker is genuinely a contractor, you should still document how travel and expenses are handled in the contract (for example: included in the service fee, reimbursed separately, or charged back to your client).

Key Takeaways

• For many businesses, the biggest risk area in travel pay arrangements for mobile workers in New Zealand is unpaid travel between jobs or unclear “start and finish” definitions that don’t match how the work is actually done.
• Travel between client sites during the day is commonly treated as paid work time, because it’s required to perform the role (not ordinary commuting).
• Home-to-first-job travel can be a grey area for mobile workers, so you’ll want clear contract wording and consistent real-world practices (especially where workers are “on duty” during travel or must carry equipment/use a work vehicle).
• Even if an agreement says certain travel time is unpaid, your pay practices still need to stack up against minimum legal standards (including minimum wage once the employee’s “hours worked” are properly assessed).
• Clear documentation helps prevent disputes: define paid vs unpaid travel, set time recording rules, and confirm how overtime or time off in lieu will work.
• Be careful about “solving” travel pay problems by calling someone a contractor - misclassification can create bigger liabilities than travel pay itself.

If you’d like help reviewing your pay practices for mobile staff, updating your employment documentation, or setting up clear travel time rules that fit the way your business really operates, reach us at 0800 002 184 or team@sprintlaw.co.nz for a free, no-obligations chat.