COMPLIANCE
Paul Chamberlain, Head of Employment and Specialist Recruitment Lawyer, JMW Solicitors, shares the outcome of the case which assessed whether travel time to a place of work, when the transport was provided by the employer, should be treated as “time work” and therefore paid at the national minimum wage (NMW) T he Court of Appeal (CoA) has laid down a landmark decision on the legal status of travel time when it comes to assessing whether an employer Taylor’s Services Ltd v HMRC: A landmark ruling on travel time and NMW
workers were owed payment for travel time at NMW. The central question was whether the travel time should be treated as “time work” and therefore paid at the rate of NMW. The law The National Minimum Wage Act 1998 entitles all UK workers to be paid at least the NMW for work completed during a pay reference period. The National Minimum Wage Regulations 2015 (https://ow.ly/ qax350WP89p) define “time work” as: “Work, other than salaried hours work, in respect of which a worker is entitled under their contract to be paid: a.) by reference to the time worked by the worker; b.) by reference to a measure of output in a period of time where the worker is required to work for the whole of that period; or c.) for work that would fall within sub- paragraph (b) but for the worker having an entitlement to be paid by reference to the period of time alone when the output does not exceed a particular level.” The 2015 regulations also deal specifically with travel time, stating that
travel time is treated as time work where the worker would otherwise be working, unless the travelling is between the worker’s home or temporary address and their place of work or assignment. Decisions The ET initially ruled that travel time should be paid at the rate of NMW, as it was “time work”. The Tribunal attached weight to the fact that the workers were typically collected from or near their
has complied with their NMW duties. JMW acted on behalf of respondents in proceedings before the Employment Tribunal (ET) and the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT). JMW remained involved in the matter before the CoA, although respondents represented themselves at the final hearing. Background Taylor’s Services Ltd employed workers on zero-hours contracts to perform services at poultry farms. The workers were transported to and from the farms via company minibuses. They had no practical alternative means of transport. Travel time was longer than a usual commute and sometimes made up a significant part of their day. The dispute arose after HM Revenue and Customs (HMRC) issued Taylor’s Services Ltd with a notice of underpayment of NMW. They argued that Taylor’s Services Ltd owed the workers compensation at the rate of NMW for travel time. Their central argument was that the workers were under the company’s control during this time. Taylor’s Services Ltd disagreed that the
| Professional in Payroll, Pensions and Reward | September 2025 | Issue 113 30
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