travel time hours worked

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Travel time as hours of work, applicability.

This information applies to GS, FP, and FWS EXEMPT and NONEXEMPT employees.

When is Travel Compensable

Time in a travel status away from the official duty station is compensable for EXEMPT and NONEXEMPT employees when the travel is performed within the regularly scheduled administrative workweek, including regularly scheduled overtime. In addition, travel is compensable for both categories of employees for purposes of meeting the daily and weekly overtime standards when it:

Involves the performance of work while traveling, (e.g., as a chauffeur or courier);
Is incident to work performed while traveling (e.g., a courier's travel relative to the spot where further travel to deliver a diplomatic pouch would begin);
Is carried out under such arduous and unusual conditions that the travel is inseparable from work; or
Results from an event which could not be scheduled or controlled administratively, including travel by an employee to such an event and the employee's return from such an event to his or her official duty station.

For a NONEXEMPT employee, travel meeting the weekly overtime standard (but not the daily overtime standard) also includes:

Travel as a passenger on an overnight assignment during hours on nonworkdays which correspond to regular working hours; and
One-day travel as a passenger to and from a temporary duty station (not including travel between home and the employee's normal duty station).

Who Makes the Determination

Officials to whom authority has been delegated to authorize or approve travel on official business are responsible for determining whether travel outside the regularly scheduled workweek meets any of the conditions for hours of work.

How Much Travel Time is Creditable For Pay

When travel outside the normal workweek constitutes hours of work, the following rules will apply in determining the amount of time in a travel status that is deemed hours of work for premium pay:

When is an employee in travel status . An employee is in a travel status only for those hours actually traveling between the official duty station and the point of destination, or between two temporary duty points, and the usual waiting time which interrupts travel.

When traveling by common carrier . Time in a travel status begins with the scheduled time of departure from the common carrier terminal, and ends upon arrival at the common carrier terminal located at the destination. However, when the employee spends 1 hour or more in travel between the common carrier terminal and place of business or residence, then the entire time traveling between the carrier terminal and place of business or residence (that is actual time traveling, exclusive of waiting time at the terminal prior to the scheduled departure time) counts as hours of work.

Waiting time . Usual waiting time between segments of a trip or at common carrier terminals counts as worktime for premium pay (up to 3 hours in unusually adverse circumstances, e.g., holiday air traffic, severe weather) provided travel away from the duty station is compensable because it meets any of the conditions of this Section.

Authority to Order Noncompensable Travel

Congress has not provided a remedy whereby an EXEMPT employee who performs official but noncompensable hours of travel may be compensated (57 Comp. Gen. 43, 50, 1977). A manager does, however, have the authority to schedule official travel that is noncompensable. As a requirement of 5 CFR 610.123, the manager must record the reasons for ordering such travel in a memo to be filed with the employee's Time and Attendance Report (T&A). A copy of the memo must be given the employee if the employee requests it.

Work performed while traveling . In order to meet the intent of the law as defined in the majority of Comptroller General decisions, work performed while traveling must be work which is inherent in the employee's job and which can only be performed while traveling, e.g., chauffeuring, hurricane reconnaissance performed aboard a plane flying into the eye of the hurricane, etc. Discretionary work such as review of a scientific presentation by a scientist or treaty papers by a foreign service officer enroute to a meeting is work which could be performed in an office independently of travel and does not satisfy the definition of work while traveling and is, therefore, not compensable for purposes of overtime. (B-146288, January 3, 1975)

Work incident to work performed while traveling . Travel which is incident to work performed while traveling must also meet the definition of "work performed while traveling" above. Travel which is necessary to meet another mode of travel is compensable for overtime purposes if the traveler performs work while traveling which is an inherent part of the job and which could only be performed while traveling, for example, a motor vehicle operator who is ordered to travel by plane in order to take responsibility for a truck which he or she is then to deliver to its permanent location (57 Comp. Gen. 43 (1977), or a courier who travels to pick up and deliver a pouch (B-178458, dated June 22, 1973). Travel and incidental transport of files is not within the definition since the transportation of files is work not inherent in the job (B-181632, dated April 1, 1975).

Travel under arduous conditions . Arduous means more than the inconvenience associated with long travel delays, unbroken travel, unpleasant weather, or bad roads. Prolonged travel in heavy blowing snow which makes driving difficult but stops short of endangering the employee might be considered arduous. A distinction must be made between travel which is arduous and travel which is hazardous duty. Each case must be judged on its own merits (B-193623,

July 23, 1979).

Travel resulting from an event which could not be administratively scheduled or controlled . An event that cannot be administratively scheduled or controlled implies immediate official necessity for travel. If it is discretionary when the employee begins travel, not including the minimum necessary time to make travel arrangements, the notion of immediate necessity which is implied by an event that could not be scheduled or controlled is lacking and the intent of the law as defined by the General Accounting Office is not satisfied. Therefore, time spent in such travel would not be compensable for overtime purposes

(B-186005, August 31, 1976).

Within the agency's administrative control . Whether the scheduling or timing of the event that precipitates an employee's travel was within the administrative control of the agency is strictly interpreted in decisions of the Comptroller General (CG). Travel on overtime to and from a meeting arranged at the discretion of two Federal agencies is not compensable since agencies have it within their power to ensure that the employee travels during work time (B-146288, January 3, 1975 et alia).

For the same reason, travel to and from training which is conducted by the government, under government contract or by a private institution solely for the benefit* of the government is not compensable since the government has it within its power to ensure that the start and end times of such training allow the employee to travel on work time (B-190494, May 8, 1978; also, 66 CG 620, 1987).

*In William A. Lewis et al, 69 CG 545 (1990). The CG ruled travel on overtime to and from training that is given by a private institution is compensable because government cannot control the private institution or its scheduling of the course. The Lewis opinion further held that the notion of "immediate official necessity for travel" which prior CG decisions have held must be present in travel which responds to an event that is not schedulable or controllable was established by the start time of the class. To be present when the class began, the employees had to travel on Sunday.

NOTE : The regulations which govern training time which is compensable as overtime and travel to and from training are separate and distinct. The circumstances under which premium pay may be paid while an individual is in training are covered in the section titled Premium Pay and Training.

Meeting abroad - a matter of accommodation . An employee's claim for overtime compensation for travel overseas to be present at the opening of a conference with representatives of a foreign government was disallowed. Although the employee's agency indirectly scheduled the meeting through the USAID Mission, the Comptroller General ruled the lack of governmental control envisioned by law and regulation for travel on overtime to be deemed compensable was not present. (Gerald C. Holst, B-202694, January 4, 1982; and B-222700, dated October 17, 1986).

NOTE : The Lewis decision (see discussion above) precipitated a review of CG decisions with the result that government control of events was sufficient to validate all previous decisions except one: Gerald C. Holst, was overruled. In overruling the 1986 decision, the Comptroller General found the agency to lack control of the scheduling of the meeting to an appreciable degree. Further, the start time of the opening conference established the immediate official necessity for travel. Travel, was, therefore, compensable.

Failure to plan . An employee who travels outside his or her normal tour of duty to perform maintenance on equipment so that the equipment can perform necessary functions in accordance with operational deadlines is not performing compensable travel if the maintenance responds to gradual deterioration which could have been prevented if maintenance was scheduled on a timely basis (49 Comp. Gen. 209, 1969).

Two-day per diem rule . An employee may be required to travel on his or her own time if in order to allow the employee to travel during working hours, the agency would be required to pay two days or more per diem. However, the two-day per diem rule does not of itself support an entitlement to overtime compensation for the employee. To be compensable at the overtime rate, travel must respond to an event that could not be scheduled or controlled administratively and there must be an immediate official necessity for the travel to be performed outside the employee's regular duty hours (60 Comp. Gen. 681, 1981).

Return travel . When an employee performs compensable overtime by traveling to an event which could not be controlled or scheduled, he or she is automatically eligible for compensation for return travel to his or her duty station.

Disparity in hours of work means disparate overtime entitlement . Because FLSA provides two situations in which a NONEXEMPT employee, but not an EXEMPT employee, can be paid for travel on overtime hours, (specifically, during hours on nonworkdays which correspond to regular working hours and for one-day travel as a passenger to and from a temporary duty station), it is possible for a NONEXEMPT employee to be paid for travel when an EXEMPT employee in the same situation is ineligible for overtime pay.

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When is travel time considered as hours worked?

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The following post does not create a lawyer-client relationship between Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices (or any of its lawyers) and the reader. It is still best for you to engage the services of a lawyer or you may directly contact and consult Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices to address your specific legal concerns, if there is any.

Also, the matters contained in the following were written in accordance with the law, rules, and jurisprudence prevailing at the time of writing and posting, and do not include any future developments on the subject matter under discussion.

AT A GLANCE:

All the time during which an employee is required to be on duty or to be at the employer’s premises or to be at a prescribed workplace, and all the time during which an employee is suffered or permitted to work is considered as compensable work hours. (Section 3, Rule I, Book III, Omnibus Rules to Implement the Labor Code)

Travel time is considered as hours worked when: (1) employee is called to travel during emergency; (2) travel is done through a conveyance furnished by the employer; (3) travel is done under vexing and dangerous circumstances; and (4) travel is done under the supervision and control of the employer.

The Omnibus Rules to Implement the Labor Code provides that all the time during which an employee is required to be on duty or to be at the employer’s premises or to be at a prescribed workplace, and all the time during which an employee is suffered or permitted to work is considered as a compensable work hours. (Section 3, Rule I, Book III, Omnibus Rules to Implement the Labor Code)

Generally, travels from home before an employee’s regular workday and returns to his home at the end of the workday is not considered as hours worked.

However, travel time is considered as hours worked when: (1) employee is called to travel during emergency; (2) travel is done through a conveyance furnished by the employer; (3) travel is done under vexing and dangerous circumstances; and (4) travel is done under the supervision and control of the employer.

“Travel that is all in a day’s work”

Time spent by an employee travelling from one jobsite to another during the workday must be counted as hours worked.

When an employee is required to report at a meeting place to receive instructions or to perform other work there, the travel from the designated place to the workplace is part of the day’s work.

“Travel away from home”

Travel away from home refers to the travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight. It is considered work time when it cuts across the employee’s workday.

Such time spent traveling away from home is hours worked not only during regular working hours but also during the corresponding hours on non-working days.

Read also: When are power interruptions or brownouts considered as working hours?

Alburo Alburo and Associates Law Offices specializes in business law and labor law consulting. For inquiries regarding taxation and taxpayer’s remedies, you may reach us at [email protected], or dial us at (02)7745-4391/0917-5772207.

FLSA Hours Worked Advisor

Travel Time

Home-to-Work and Return Travel
Home-to-Work and Return Travel, Employer’s Vehicle
Travel Other Than Home-to-Work and Return
Work Performed While Traveling

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When Do Employers Have to Pay Employees for Travel Time?

Deanna deBara

For some small businesses, traveling to meet clients, make sales, and manage day-to-day activities is a must. For others, traveling is valuable for attending conferences, participating in networking events, or undergoing specialized training.

But if it's your employees doing the traveling, do you need to pay them for that time? Whatever your preferences are as a small business owner, the legal answer is: that depends.

Let's explore when you need to provide travel time pay for hourly employees, which employees are entitled to that pay, and, if they are entitled, how much you'll need to pay them.

Who Is Entitled to Travel Pay?

All non-exempt employees are entitled to travel pay during normal work hours and when they are actively working outside of those hours. They aren't entitled to travel pay for doing their typical commute, according to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA).

Non-exempt employees are typically paid an hourly wage and are paid less than $684 per week or $35,568 per year.

These rules don't apply to exempt employees, and therefore it's up to you whether you want to pay them to travel.

What's more—your state may have some extra rules, so make sure to check your state's Department of Labor or Wage and Hour Division website.

When Do You Have to Provide Travel Time Pay for Hourly Employees?

But when, exactly, are these employees paid to travel? Compensable work time needs to be paid when employees travel:

Locally: You need to pay employees when they travel locally as part of their regular duties (for example, from your office to a supply store). And if that travel happens outside of the employee's regular workday hours (even if they're only waiting to travel, like sitting at a bus stop or train station)? You still need to pay.
Between worksites: Employees get travel pay when traveling between worksites. For example, a courier who transports materials between different job sites must be paid for the time spent traveling. Similarly, plumbers who travel between customers' homes are eligible for travel pay.
For special one-day assignments: You must provide travel pay for hourly employees who travel out of town, even if they return home at the end of the workday—though you can deduct the employee's normal commute time from the total payment. For example, let's say an employee spends a total of two hours traveling to and from a work conference (which takes place during normal working hours). Because her typical daily commute takes 30 minutes, you would only need to pay for 1.5 hours of traveling (in addition to regular hourly wages).
Overnight: Employees traveling overnight are due travel pay during their regular working hours and any time they spend working outside of those regular hours (for example, participating in late-night conference calls while on a train). You also need to pay employees for traveling during their regular working hours, even on non-working days, like weekends, holidays, or their normal days off.

Bonus tip : The best way to track travel time for your employees? Time tracking software like Hourly . Workers clock in right from their phones, and the platform automatically tracks their location, hours and what project they're working on—which you can see in real-time. Another perk? You can run payroll with the click of a button.

How Much Do You Have to Pay Employees for Travel Time?

Employees traveling for work need to be paid at least the minimum wage, but they can be paid more or less than their normal pay rate.

If you want to pay a different rate than an employee's hourly wage, you'll need to:

Tell the employee they will be paid a different rate before they begin their trip.
Make sure the hourly rate for travel pay doesn't cause the employee's total pay for all workable hours to fall below minimum wage (state, local or federal—whichever is highest) or result in incorrect overtime pay.
Ensure that you're not violating their employment contract.

This gives you the flexibility to offer a higher rate of pay as an incentive for traveling outside of regular business hours—or, if you decide to pay less than their typical rate (but still minimum wage or above!), it can help make sure that paying for travel won't interrupt your cash flow or cause other financial concerns for your company.

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When Do You NOT Have to Provide Travel Time Pay for Hourly Employees?

Exempt employees—like outside salespeople, executives, managers, administrators, and even IT personnel—aren't entitled to travel pay. And non-exempt workers? They're not eligible for travel pay when they are:

Commuting: An employee's commute—the time spent driving from their home to work (and from work to home)—doesn't qualify as travel time. This also includes the time spent driving from accommodations/lodging (like a hotel) to a work location, like a client's office or conference center.
On break or during personal time : Non-exempt employees aren't entitled to travel pay during breaks (including meal periods and time spent sleeping) or when they can spend their time how they see fit. In other words, you don't need to pay for traveling during the time an employee can go shopping, sightseeing, or out to eat.
Away from work and not working : Employees on overnight travel or business trips don't need to be paid outside of regular working hours unless they're working during that time period. For example, an employee who regularly works 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday through Friday only needs to be paid for traveling on a Saturday if they travel during their normal working hours (i.e., 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.)—unless they're working outside of those hours too (like answering customer support emails or counting inventory).
A passenger: You don't need to pay for travel when an employee is a passenger (in any sort of vehicle) and isn't doing work outside of regular work hours. The only exceptions occur when you require an employee to drive the vehicle or be actively engaged in working (like riding to a job site while handling customer calls or riding as a passenger in a client's vehicle).
Choosing to drive themselves : If you offer to pay for an employee's travel method (like airfare, a bus ticket, or a train ticket) and the employee requests to drive instead, the employee is only entitled to travel pay while driving during their regular work hours. In other words, if an employee requests to drive themselves vs. taking public transit, you don't need to pay for travel outside of the employee's regular shift.

In other words, a non-exempt employee isn't entitled to travel pay unless they are driving, traveling during their normal working hours, or actively working while traveling.

Does Travel Time Count Towards Overtime?

Yes, travel time counts toward overtime, and you'd owe them 1.5 times their regular rate for any hours worked over 40 while they're traveling.

What if your pay rate for traveling is different from an employee's regular wages? Then it gets a little more complicated.

In that case, you need to use the weighted average of the two overtime rates to get their final pay. Here's an example:

Let's imagine one of your employees is pulling a 40-hour week at the office. Their rate? $15 per hour. So that gives them $600 for their regular workweek (that's 40 hours multiplied by $15 per hour). Now, during that same week, they also spent 8 hours traveling as overtime, for which you're paying them $11.25 per hour. This gives them an extra $90 (which is 8 hours multiplied by $11.25 per hour).

Add these together, and their total straight-time pay for the week is $690.

Now, to figure out their average rate for the week (including travel time and regular office time), you need to divide this total pay by their total hours worked. In this case, it's 48 hours in total (40 regular hours plus 8 overtime hours). So, $690 divided by 48 hours gives you a weighted average rate of $14.375 per hour.

But they've already been paid for all 48 hours at their respective rates, right? For the 8 hours of overtime, what you owe them is an extra half of that weighted average rate. That's what we call the "overtime premium." Half of $14.375 is about $7.19. So, the overtime pay would be 8 hours (overtime) times $7.19, which comes out to $57.52.

To get their final paycheck, you add this overtime pay to their straight-time pay. So, $690 (straight-time pay) plus $57.52 (overtime pay) equals $747.52. As a business owner, using the weighted average method to calculate the overtime rate, you'd be paying out $747.52 for this employee's week of work, including their overtime.

Additionally, if you pay for travel time that isn't required to be paid (like commuting), you can't count them as hours worked for overtime purposes.

Travel Time Pay Best Practices

Handling travel pay can be complex and difficult at first. But it doesn't have to be! Use these best practices to simplify paying your employees for working on the go.

Create a Travel Policy

If your small business sends employees to different locations, you need to establish a written travel policy—and include it in your employee handbook.

Your travel policy should outline which situations result in compensable travel time (like attending conferences or visiting different job sites), as well as any exclusions where employees won't be compensated (like an employee's regular commute or traveling as a passenger on non-working days).

If you pay a different hourly rate for time spent traveling, make sure to include it in your policy. Then, have employees sign the policy to acknowledge they understand it and agree to its terms—and then add the signed document to their employee file.

Track Hours Traveled

As a small business owner, you need to track employee travel time to follow labor laws and make sure their paychecks are accurate.

Though you can ask employees to record and document the time they spend traveling—which can help you make sure your records are accurate—the responsibility for doing so is ultimately on you.

Pay for or Reimburse Travel Expenses

The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) doesn't require you to pay for your employee's travel expenses.

Still, if you're sending your employees out of town, you should pay for the cost of travel—like tickets and lodging.

If you don't, your employees are almost guaranteed to get frustrated that they have to pay for expenses out of pocket—and that frustration could lead to issues with employee engagement and retention.

When writing your travel policy, outline which travel expenses your company covers. If you expect employees to front some or all of the travel expenses, detail your procedure for requesting reimbursement and how to track expenses (like mileage or airfare).

You might also want to provide some form of per diem or stipend that helps employees pay for small travel expenses, like food.

This can either be an allowance per meal period (like $15 for breakfast, $20 for lunch, and $40 for dinner) or a specific amount that the employee can use throughout the trip (like $50 per day or $150 for the weekend). Have your employees save and submit their receipts to avoid taxation. You can also consider a company card to lessen the burden on your team's bank account.

Check With Your State's Laws

In addition to federal law, some state laws apply additional regulations to travel time. This means rules can vary based on the state you operate in. For example, compensable work time in California includes riding as a passenger in a vehicle when traveling for work.

But which set of employment laws should you follow? You should apply the set of rules that provide the highest payment to your employees. So, if your state regulations specify that certain activities qualify as compensable—even if the FLSA does not—you need to pay for time spent traveling.

(For guidance about your state's specific laws and guidelines, contact your state's Department of Labor and local Wage and Hour Division .)

FAQs About Travel Time Pay for Hourly Employees

Do remote/hybrid workers qualify for travel pay.

A remote or hybrid worker qualifies for travel pay when you require them to travel to your place of business or another venue (like a conference hall, training facility, or client location) and they:

Live far away from the regular worksite (requiring an overnight stay or significant travel time)
Are only expected to work on-site by request or on a day they're not normally required to be on-site

However, remote/hybrid workers aren't entitled to travel pay when:

Your policy specifies that both an employee's home/remote office and your office are considered primary work locations
They are expected to work on-location on certain days
The time spent traveling to the office is considered an employee's commute (even if they are a remote or hybrid worker)

Do employees who drive/travel as part of their job qualify for travel pay?

The FLSA requires you to pay employees their regular hourly wages when they are driving or traveling as part of their job responsibilities. For example, bus or delivery drivers should be paid their regular wages while on the job.

Compensating Your Employees for Traveling Doesn't Need to Be Difficult

Traveling for business can take a toll—both on the road and off. Paying travel time for hourly employees can incentivize them to hit the road when necessary and make up for the time they spend away from their families and lives.

Once you've determined which employees qualify for travel time pay, implement a clear travel policy (that adheres to state and federal law) and use management tools (like Hourly !) to maintain accurate records and compensate your employees for time spent traveling.

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Compensatory Time Off for Travel - Questions & Answers to Fact Sheet

Q1. What is compensatory time off for travel? View more A. Compensatory time off for travel is a separate form of compensatory time off that may be earned by an employee for time spent in a travel status away from the employee's official duty station when such time is not otherwise compensable.
Q2. Are all employees covered by this provision? View more A. The compensatory time off provision applies to an "employee" as defined in 5 U.S.C. 5541(2) who is employed in an "Executive agency" as defined in 5 U.S.C. 105, without regard to whether the employee is exempt from or covered by the overtime pay provisions of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, as amended. For example, this includes employees in senior-level (SL) and scientific or professional (ST) positions, but not members of the Senior Executive Service or Senior Foreign Service or Foreign Service officers. Effective April 27, 2008, prevailing rate (wage) employees are covered under the compensatory time off for travel provision. (See CPM 2008-04 .)
Q3. Are intermittent employees eligible to earn compensatory time off for travel? View more A. No. Compensatory time off for travel may be used by an employee when the employee is granted time off from his or her scheduled tour of duty established for leave purposes. (See 5 CFR 550.1406(b).) Also see the definition of "scheduled tour of duty for leave purposes" in 5 CFR 550.1403. Employees who are on intermittent work schedules are not eligible to earn and use compensatory time off for travel because they do not have a scheduled tour of duty for leave purposes.
Q4. What qualifies as travel for the purpose of this provision? View more A. To qualify for this purpose, travel must be officially authorized. In other words, travel must be for work purposes and must be approved by an authorized agency official or otherwise authorized under established agency policies. (Also see Q5.)
Q5. May an employee earn compensatory time off when he or she travels in conjunction with the performance of union representational duties? View more A. No. The term "travel" is defined at 5 CFR 550.1403 to mean officially authorized travel—i.e., travel for work purposes approved by an authorized agency official or otherwise authorized under established agency policies. The definition specifically excludes time spent traveling in connection with union activities. The term "travel for work purposes" is intended to mean travel for agency-related work purposes. Thus, employees who travel in connection with union activities are not entitled to earn compensatory time off for travel because they are traveling for the benefit of the union, and not for agency-related work purposes.
Q6. An employee receives compensatory time off for travel only for those hours spent in a travel status. What qualifies as time in a travel status? View more A. Travel status includes only the time actually spent traveling between the official duty station and a temporary duty station, or between two temporary duty stations, and the usual waiting time that precedes or interrupts such travel.
Q7. Is travel in connection with a permanent change of station (PCS) creditable for compensatory time off for travel? View more A. Although PCS travel is officially authorized travel, it is not travel between an official duty station and a temporary duty station or between two temporary duty stations. Therefore, it is not considered time in a travel status for the purpose of earning compensatory time off for travel.
Q8. What is meant by "usual waiting time"? View more A. Airline travelers generally are required to arrive at the airport at a designated pre-departure time (e.g., 1 or 2 hours before the scheduled departure, depending on whether the flight is domestic or international). Such waiting time at the airport is considered usual waiting time and is creditable time in a travel status. In addition, time spent at an intervening airport waiting for a connecting flight (e.g., 1 or 2 hours) also is creditable time in a travel status. In all cases, determinations regarding what is creditable as "usual waiting time" are within the sole and exclusive discretion of the employing agency.
Q9. What if an employee experiences an "extended" waiting period? View more A. If an employee experiences an unusually long wait prior to his or her initial departure or between actual periods of travel during which the employee is free to rest, sleep, or otherwise use the time for his or her own purposes, the extended waiting time outside the employee's regular working hours is not creditable time in a travel status. An extended waiting period that occurs during an employee's regular working hours is compensable as part of the employee's regularly scheduled administrative workweek.
Q10. Do meal periods count as time in a travel status? View more A. Meal periods during actual travel time or waiting time are not specifically excluded from creditable time in a travel status for the purpose of earning compensatory time off for travel. However, determinations regarding what is creditable as "usual waiting time" are within the sole and exclusive discretion of the employing agency.
Q11. What happens once an employee reaches a temporary duty station? View more A. Time spent at a temporary duty station between arrival and departure is not creditable travel time for the purpose of earning compensatory time off for travel. Time in a travel status ends when the employee arrives at the temporary duty worksite or his or her lodging in the temporary duty station, wherever the employee arrives first. Time in a travel status resumes when an employee departs from the temporary duty worksite or his or her lodging in the temporary duty station, wherever the employee departs last.
Q12. When is it appropriate for an agency to offset creditable time in a travel status by the amount of time the employee spends in normal commuting between home and work? View more A. If an employee travels directly between his or her home and a temporary duty station outside the limits of the employee's official duty station (e.g., driving to and from a 3-day conference), the agency must deduct the employee's normal home-to-work/work-to-home commuting time from the creditable travel time. The agency must also deduct an employee's normal commuting time from the creditable travel time if the employee is required—outside of regular working hours—to travel between home and a transportation terminal (e.g., an airport or train station) outside the limits of the employee's official duty station.
Q13. What if an employee travels to a transportation terminal within the limits of his or her official duty station? View more A. An employee's time spent traveling outside of regular working hours to or from a transportation terminal within the limits of his or her official duty station is considered equivalent to commuting time and is not creditable time in a travel status for the purpose of earning compensatory time off for travel.
Q14. What if an employee travels from a worksite to a transportation terminal? View more A. If an employee travels between a worksite and a transportation terminal, the travel time outside regular working hours is creditable as time in a travel status, and no commuting time offset applies. For example, after completing his or her workday, an employee may travel directly from the regular worksite to an airport to attend an out-of-town meeting the following morning. The travel time between the regular worksite and the airport is creditable as time in a travel status.
Q15. What if an employee elects to travel at a time other than the time selected by the agency? View more A. When an employee travels at a time other than the time selected by the agency, the agency must determine the estimated amount of time in a travel status the employee would have had if the employee had traveled at the time selected by the agency. The agency must credit the employee with the lesser of (1) the estimated time in a travel status the employee would have had if the employee had traveled at the time selected by the agency, or (2) the employee's actual time in a travel status at a time other than that selected by the agency.
Q16. How is an employee's travel time calculated for the purpose of earning compensatory time off for travel when the travel involves two or more time zones? View more A. When an employee's travel involves two or more time zones, the time zone from point of first departure must be used to determine how many hours the employee actually spent in a travel status for the purpose of accruing compensatory time off for travel. For example, if an employee travels from his official duty station in Washington, DC, to a temporary duty station in San Francisco, CA, the Washington, DC, time zone must be used to determine how many hours the employee spent in a travel status. However, on the return trip to Washington, DC, the time zone from San Francisco, CA, must be used to calculate how many hours the employee spent in a travel status.
Q17. How is compensatory time off for travel earned and credited? View more A. Compensatory time off for travel is earned for qualifying time in a travel status. Agencies may authorize credit in increments of one-tenth of an hour (6 minutes) or one-quarter of an hour (15 minutes). Agencies must track and manage compensatory time off for travel separately from other forms of compensatory time off.
Q18. Is there a limitation on the amount of compensatory time off for travel an employee may earn? View more A. No.
Q19. How does an employee request credit for compensatory time off for travel? View more A. Agencies may establish procedures for requesting credit for compensatory time off for travel. An employee must comply with his or her agency's procedures for requesting credit of compensatory time off, and the employee must file a request for such credit within the time period established by the agency. An employee's request for credit of compensatory time off for travel may be denied if the request is not filed within the time period required by the agency.
Q20. Is there a form employees must fill out for requests to earn or use compensatory time off for travel? View more A. There is not a Governmentwide form used for requests to earn or use compensatory time off for travel. However, an agency may choose to develop a form as part of its internal policies and procedures.
Q21. How does an employee use accrued compensatory time off for travel? View more A. An employee must request permission from his or her supervisor to schedule the use of his or her accrued compensatory time off for travel in accordance with agency policies and procedures. Compensatory time off for travel may be used when the employee is granted time off from his or her scheduled tour of duty established for leave purposes. Employees must use accrued compensatory time off for travel in increments of one-tenth of an hour (6 minutes) or one-quarter of an hour (15 minutes).
Q22. In what order should agencies charge compensatory time off for travel? View more A. Agencies must charge compensatory time off for travel in the chronological order in which it was earned, with compensatory time off for travel earned first being charged first.
Q23. How long does an employee have to use accrued compensatory time off for travel? View more A. An employee must use his or her accrued compensatory time off for travel by the end of the 26th pay period after the pay period during which it was earned or the employee must forfeit such compensatory time off, except in certain circumstances. (See Q24 and Q25 for exceptions.)
Q24. What if an employee is unable to use his or her accrued compensatory time off for travel because of uniformed service or an on-the-job injury with entitlement to injury compensation? View more A. Unused compensatory time off for travel will be held in abeyance for an employee who separates, or is placed in a leave without pay status, and later returns following (1) separation or leave without pay to perform service in the uniformed services (as defined in 38 U.S.C. 4303 and 5 CFR 353.102) and a return to service through the exercise of a reemployment right or (2) separation or leave without pay due to an on-the-job injury with entitlement to injury compensation under 5 U.S.C. chapter 81. The employee must use all of the compensatory time off for travel held in abeyance by the end of the 26th pay period following the pay period in which the employee returns to duty, or such compensatory time off for travel will be forfeited.
Q25. What if an employee is unable to use his or her accrued compensatory time off for travel because of an exigency of the service beyond the employee's control? View more A. If an employee fails to use his or her accrued compensatory time off for travel before the end of the 26th pay period after the pay period during which it was earned due to an exigency of the service beyond the employee's control, the head of an agency, at his or her sole and exclusive discretion, may extend the time limit for up to an additional 26 pay periods.
Q26. May unused compensatory time off for travel be restored if an employee does not use it by the end of the 26th pay period after the pay period during which it was earned? View more A. Except in certain circumstances (see Q24 and Q25), any compensatory time off for travel not used by the end of the 26th pay period after the pay period during which it was earned must be forfeited.
Q27. What happens to an employee's unused compensatory time off for travel upon separation from Federal service? View more A. Except in certain circumstances (see Q24), an employee must forfeit all unused compensatory time off for travel upon separation from Federal service.
Q28. May an employee receive a lump-sum payment for accrued compensatory time off for travel upon separation from an agency? View more A. No. The law prohibits payment for unused compensatory time off for travel under any circumstances.
Q29. What happens to an employee's accrued compensatory time off for travel upon transfer to another agency? View more A. When an employee voluntarily transfers to another agency (including a promotion or change to lower grade action), the employee must forfeit all of his or her unused compensatory time off for travel.
Q30. What happens to an employee's accrued compensatory time off for travel when the employee moves to a position that is not covered by the regulations in 5 CFR part 550, subpart N? View more A. When an employee moves to a position in an agency not covered by the compensatory time off for travel provisions (e.g., the United States Postal Service), the employee must forfeit all of his or her unused compensatory time off for travel. However, the gaining agency may use its own legal authority to give the employee credit for such compensatory time off.
Q31. Is compensatory time off for travel considered in applying the premium pay and aggregate pay caps? View more A. No. Compensatory time off for travel may not be considered in applying the biweekly or annual premium pay limitations established under 5 U.S.C. 5547 or the aggregate limitation on pay established under 5 U.S.C. 5307.
Q32. When are criminal investigators who receive availability pay precluded from earning compensatory time off for travel? View more A. Compensatory time off for travel is earned only for hours not otherwise compensable. The term "compensable" is defined at 5 CFR 550.1403 to include any hours of a type creditable under other compensation provisions, even if there are compensation caps limiting the payment of premium pay for those hours (e.g., the 25 percent cap on availability pay and the biweekly premium pay cap). For availability pay recipients, this means hours of travel are not creditable as time in a travel status for compensatory time off purposes if the hours are (1) compensated by basic pay, (2) regularly scheduled overtime hours creditable under 5 U.S.C. 5542, or (3) "unscheduled duty hours" as described in 5 CFR 550.182(a), (c), and (d).
Q33. What constitutes "unscheduled duty hours" as described in 5 CFR 550.182(a), (c), and (d)? View more A. Under the availability pay regulations, unscheduled duty hours include (1) all irregular overtime hours—i.e., overtime work not scheduled in advance of the employee's administrative workweek, (2) the first 2 overtime hours on any day containing part of the employee's basic 40-hour workweek, without regard to whether the hours are unscheduled or regularly scheduled, and (3) any approved nonwork availability hours. However, special agents in the Diplomatic Security Service of the Department of State may count only hours actually worked as unscheduled duty hours.
Q34. Why are criminal investigators who receive availability pay precluded from earning compensatory time off when they travel during unscheduled duty hours? View more A. The purpose of availability pay is to ensure the availability of criminal investigators (and certain similar law enforcement employees) for unscheduled duty in excess of a 40-hour workweek based on the needs of the employing agency. Availability pay compensates an employee for all unscheduled duty hours. Compensatory time off for travel is earned only for hours not otherwise compensable. Thus, availability pay recipients may not earn compensatory time off for travel during unscheduled duty hours because the employees are entitled to availability pay for those hours.

A. When an employee who receives availability pay is required to travel on a non-workday or on a regular workday (during hours that exceed the employee's basic 8-hour workday), and the travel does not meet one of the four criteria in 5 U.S.C. 5542(b)(2)(B) and 5 CFR 550.112(g)(2), the travel time is not compensable as overtime hours of work under regular overtime or availability pay. Thus, the employee may earn compensatory time off for such travel, subject to the exclusion specified in 5 CFR 550.1404(b)(2) and the requirements in 5 CFR 550.1404(c),(d), and (e).

Under the provisions in 5 U.S.C. 5542(b)(2)(B) and 5 CFR 550.112(g)(2), travel time is compensable as overtime hours of work if the travel is away from the employee's official duty station and—

(i) involves the performance of work while traveling, (ii) is incident to travel that involves the performance of work while traveling, (iii) is carried out under arduous conditions, or (iv) results from an event which could not be scheduled or controlled administratively.

The phrase "an event which could not be scheduled or controlled administratively" refers to the ability of an agency in the Executive Branch of the United States Government to control the scheduling of an event which necessitates an employee's travel. If the employing agency or another Executive Branch agency has any control over the scheduling of the event, including by means of approval of a contract for it, then the event is administratively controllable, and the travel to and from the event cannot be credited as overtime hours of work.

For example, an interagency conference sponsored by the Department of Justice would be considered a joint endeavor of the participating Executive Branch agencies and within their administrative control. Under these circumstances, the travel time outside an employee's regular working hours is not compensable as overtime hours of work under regular overtime or availability pay. Therefore, the employee may earn compensatory time off for such travel, subject to the exclusion specified in 5 CFR 550.1404(b)(2) and the requirements in 5 CFR 550.1404(c), (d), and (e).

Q36. If an employee is required to travel on a Federal holiday (or an "in lieu of" holiday), is the employee entitled to receive compensatory time off for travel? View more A. Although most employees do not receive holiday premium pay for time spent traveling on a holiday (or an "in lieu of" holiday), an employee continues to be entitled to pay for the holiday in the same manner as if the travel were not required. Thus, an employee may not earn compensatory time off for travel during basic (non-overtime) holiday hours because the employee is entitled to his or her rate of basic pay for those hours. Compensatory time off for travel may be earned by an employee only for time spent in a travel status away from the employee's official duty station when such time is not otherwise compensable.
Q37. If an employee's regularly scheduled tour of duty is Sunday through Thursday and the employee is required to travel on a Sunday during regular working hours, is the employee entitled to earn compensatory time off for travel? View more A. No. Compensatory time off for travel may be earned by an employee only for time spent in a travel status away from the employee's official duty station when such time is not otherwise compensable. Thus, an employee may not earn compensatory time off for travel for traveling on a workday during regular working hours because the employee is receiving his or her rate of basic pay for those hours.
Q38. May an agency change an employee's work schedule for travel purposes? View more A. An agency may not adjust the regularly scheduled administrative workweek that normally applies to an employee (part-time or full-time) solely for the purpose of including planned travel time not otherwise considered compensable hours of work. However, an employee is entitled to earn compensatory time off for travel for time spent in a travel status when such time is not otherwise compensable.
Q39. Is time spent traveling creditable as credit hours for an employee who is authorized to earn credit hours under an alternative work schedule? View more A. Credit hours are hours an employee elects to work, with supervisory approval, in excess of the employee's basic work requirement under a flexible work schedule. Under certain conditions, an agency may permit an employee to earn credit hours by performing productive and essential work while in a travel status. See OPM's fact sheet on credit hours for the conditions that must be met. If those conditions are met and the employee does earn credit hours for travel, the time spent traveling would be compensable and the employee would not be eligible to earn compensatory time off for travel. If the conditions are not met, the employee would be eligible to earn compensatory time off for travel.
Q40. May an agency restore an employee's forfeited "use-or-lose" annual leave because the employee elected to use earned compensatory time off for travel instead of using his or her excess annual leave? View more A. Section 6304(d) of title 5, United States Code, prescribes the conditions under which an employee's forfeited annual leave may be restored to an employee. (See fact sheet on restoration of annual leave .) There is no legal authority to restore an employee's forfeited annual leave because the employee elected to use earned compensatory time off for travel instead of using his or her excess annual leave.

A. No. Compensatory time off for travel may be earned by an employee only for time spent in a travel status away from the employee's official duty station when such time is not otherwise compensable. The term "compensable" is defined at 5 CFR 550.1403 to make clear what periods of time are "not otherwise compensable" and thus potentially creditable for the purpose of earning compensatory time off for travel. Time is considered compensable if the time is creditable as hours of work for the purpose of determining a specific pay entitlement (e.g., overtime pay for travel meeting one of the four criteria in 5 CFR 550.112(g)(2)) even when the time may not actually generate additional compensation because of applicable pay limitations (e.g., biweekly premium pay cap). The capped premium pay is considered complete compensation for all hours of work creditable under the premium pay provisions.

In other words, even though an employee may not receive overtime pay for all of his or her travel hours because of the biweekly premium pay cap, all of the travel time is still considered to be compensable under 5 CFR 550.112(g)(2). Under these circumstances, the employee has been compensated fully under the law for all of the travel hours and the employee may not earn compensatory time off for any portion of such travel not generating additional compensation because of the biweekly cap on premium pay.

Q42. May an employee who receives administratively uncontrollable overtime (AUO) pay under 5 U.S.C. 5545(c)(2) earn compensatory time off for travel? View more A. If such employee's travel time is not compensable under 5 CFR 550.112(g) or 5 CFR 551.422, as applicable, and meets the requirements in 5 CFR part 550, subpart N, the employee is eligible to earn compensatory time off for travel for time spent in a travel status.
Q43. If a part-time employee's regularly scheduled tour of duty is Monday through Friday, 8:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m., and the employee is required to travel on a Friday from 2:30 p.m. to 4:30 p.m., is the employee entitled to earn compensatory time off for travel for those 2 hours? View more A. It depends. If the travel qualifies as compensable hours of work under 5 U.S.C. 5542(b)(2)(B) and 5 CFR 550.112(g)(2)—i.e., the travel involves or is incident to the performance of actual work, is carried out under arduous and unusual conditions, or results from an event which could not be scheduled or controlled administratively—the employee may not be credited with compensatory time off for travel hours. (Such travel time outside a part-time employee's scheduled tour of duty, but not in excess of 8 hours in a day or 40 hours in a week, would be non-overtime hours of work compensated at the employee's rate of basic pay.) If the travel time does not qualify as compensable hours of work and meets the other requirements in 5 CFR part 550, subpart N, the part-time employee would be entitled to earn compensatory time off for those 2 hours. We note travel time is always compensable hours of work if it falls within an employee's regularly scheduled administrative workweek. (See 5 U.S.C. 5542(b)(2)(A) and 5 CFR 550.112(g)(1).) For a part-time employee, the regularly scheduled administrative workweek is defined in 5 CFR 550.103 as the officially prescribed days and hours within an administrative workweek during which the employee was scheduled to work in advance of the workweek. An agency may not adjust the regularly scheduled administrative workweek normally applied to an employee (part-time or full-time) solely for the purpose of including planned travel time otherwise not considered compensable hours of work.
Q44. Does an upgrade in travel accommodations impact an employee's entitlement to compensatory time off for travel? View more A. Allowing an employee to upgrade his or her travel accommodations (e.g., to business class) does not eliminate his or her eligibility to earn compensatory time off for travel.

If someone travels for their job - Working time rules

Understanding the Working Time Regulations
The 48-hour weekly maximum
Being on call
Night workers

If someone travels for their job

Jobs with different rules
Agreeing a change – relevant agreements

In some cases, travel time to and from work counts as working time.

If an employee has a fixed place of work

If an employee has a fixed place of work (such as an office they go to every day), their regular travel time to and from work does not usually count as working time.

If an employer wants to count this travel time as working time, they can.

Travel time while at work will usually count as working time, for example when travelling:

from one client to the next
from an office to a meeting elsewhere

Find out about the maximum hours an employee can work in a week

If the employee has no fixed place of work

Some jobs have no fixed place of work. These are often jobs where the employee spends a lot of time visiting customers or clients. People who do this work are sometimes known as 'peripatetic workers'.

These types of jobs can include:

care workers
plumbers and other tradespeople
teachers who work at different schools over the working day
travelling salespeople

Travel between home and work is likely to count as working time for peripatetic workers. This is because during this time, the person is classed as doing work for their employer – for example, the employer may change or add tasks.

Pay when travel time counts as working time

When travel time counts as working time, the pay an employee gets depends on the terms of the employment contract.

When calculating pay the employer must follow the law on the National Minimum Wage. It includes different rules on how working time affects minimum wage calculations.

use the minimum wage calculator on GOV.UK
find out more about how minimum wage is calculated on GOV.UK

If you like, you can tell us more about what was useful on this page. We cannot reply – so do not include any personal details, for example your email address or phone number. If you have any questions about your individual circumstances, you can contact the Acas helpline .

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Americans have between 4 and 6 hours of leisure time daily. We just have no idea how to use it.

The average American has way more "free" time than you might think.
But most of us spend the majority of our leisure time staring at screens.
Picking up a new hobby can be a good way to reset — but that's easier said than done.

It's another Tuesday night, and work is winding down. I send my last Slack messages for the evening, fire off a few emails, and shut my laptop with a false sense of finality as if I don't have to return to my desk in sixteen short hours.

I make the short trek from my at-home office to the couch, where I grab the remote and settle in for yet another night of "Real Housewives" viewing. Before I know it, four hours have passed. My eyes are heavy, and it's time for bed. So long, Tuesday.

That's how it goes on Wednesday and Thursday, too. Maybe I'll grab drinks with friends on Friday or switch out reality TV for the newest Netflix movie come Monday, but generally speaking, I spend most of my adult life eating, sleeping, working, and scrolling to the ambient sounds of the telly . It's a far cry from the schedule I kept as a teenager, sprinting from play rehearsal to swim practice and still finding time for homework and socializing in between.

It's true that Americans are overworked , overstressed, and generally awful at unplugging from work, two time-use researchers told Business Insider.

But that only tells half the story.

Americans, on average, have between four to six hours of leisure time every day, according to the American Time Use Survey , which measures the amount of time people spend doing various activities. In 2022, men spent an average of 5.6 hours engaging in leisure activities each day, while women clocked in 4.8 hours of free time, according to the study.

Five hours of free time a day? That can't be right! If I had 25 extra hours each workweek, I certainly would have mastered the piano or written a novel by now, right? Wrong. Instead, all I have to show for my free time is an ungodly knowledge of Bravo lore.

Researchers say I'm not alone in languishing away my leisure time. Several facets of American life, including our reverence for work , our failing social safety net , and the Puritanical ideals on which our country was founded, all play a role in Americans' seeming inability to unwind in meaningful ways, researchers said.

Two elements define leisure: choice and control, according to Brigid Schulte, author of "Overwhelmed: Work, Love, and Play when No One has the Time" and director of the Better Life Lab. People have to choose an activity freely and have control over the time they spend doing it.

That's why, for much of human history, leisure time was out of reach for the masses, restricted to those with the social standing and status to engage in it — namely, rich men.

"It used to be that having discretionary time and being able to engage in leisure activity was a mark you were of a high social class," said Liana Sayer, director of the University of Maryland's Time Use Lab. "If you could do what you wanted with your time, it meant other people were providing the necessities of life for you."

That changed with industrialization, Sayer said. But the idea that those who have more money also have more time is one that still holds true today. People who work steady, 9-to-5 jobs with predictable schedules are much more likely to find extra time in their day, Sayer said. Gig workers and hourly employees, on the other hand, are increasingly reliant on multiple jobs and unpredictable schedules.

Despite class differences, 95% of Americans over the age of 15 engaged in some kind of leisure activity on a typical day, according to the 2022 time-use survey. The leisure category encompasses pastimes like socializing, exercising, and reading for pleasure.

But the vast majority of Americans' leisure time is spent — you guessed it — in front of the television. Watching TV is the most popular leisure activity, accounting for an average of 2.8 hours a day — more than half of all Americans' leisure time.

Much has been made about America's co-dependant relationship with the tube. (Some influential time researchers have argued Americans' social skills started to decline when air conditioning and television became commonplace, allowing people to remain both comfortable and entertained without leaving their homes, Sayer said.) But whether the small screen rots our brains or helps us relax, the act of watching TV is often an inherently anti-social one, researchers said.

It's easy to flip on the TV after a busy day at work because it requires almost no planning and very little brain engagement. Partaking in an out-of-the-house activity or making plans with other people, meanwhile, takes organization and coordination.

Our reliance on TV is part of a larger trend that has seen Americans engage less and less with other people and pro-social institutions like church or volunteer groups, Sayers said, adding that this is a pre-pandemic pattern. While COVID-19 certainly shifted our approach to work and leisure, it can't be solely blamed for Americans' increasing loneliness.

Sexism and the safety net

There is also a gendered element at play when it comes to Americans' leisure time. Married mothers do about three times the amount of housework, and twice as much childcare as married fathers do, Sayer said. There's some evidence that men are starting to step up their contributions post-pandemic, according to Sayer. However, much of women's "free" time is still dedicated to household duties and parenting.

"Most women don't feel like they deserve leisure time," Schulte said. "They feel like they have to earn it."

That mindset is not unique to American women and dates as far back as biblical times, researchers said. Women have long been transforming their leisure time into productive activities, from starting sewing circles to socializing at the watering hole, Schulte said.

But Americans' toxic relationship with leisure isn't gender-specific. A valorization of "hard work" was built into the very founding of our country, Schulte said. As a result, Americans have an intrinsic desire to be busy; we take it as a point of pride to overwork ourselves and cultivate little societal respect for hobbies and recreation. And Americans have been getting busier and busier over the course of the last few decades, increasingly to the detriment of their civic and social life, Schulte said.

"A lot of that panic and anxiety can be tied back to the '70s and '80s and the dismantling of the social safety net," she added.

When it comes to prioritizing leisure time, America could take some cues from its European friends. Norwegians average more than six hours of leisure time each day. At the same time, the Belgians and Greeks pursue relaxation and hobbies for more than five-and-a-half hours each day on average, according to time use data from the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development. The US ranked 21 in global leisure time.

But America today lacks much of the infrastructure that would allow people to fully embrace and prioritize their leisure time, researchers said. People can't take the time to learn a new skill or truly unwind without robust maternity leave, affordable childcare, a better work-life balance, and dependable healthcare in place, Schulte said.

European countries far outrank the US when it comes to social spending. In 2019, France spent nearly a third of its gross domestic product on services related to health, family, unemployment, housing, and other benefits, according to OECD data compiled by the World Economic Forum . Finland, Belgium, Italy, Germany, Spain, Japan, and the UK all dedicated 20% or more of their spending to social services, while the US ranked ninth with 18.7%.

"A lot needs to change big-picture with policymakers and business leaders," Schulte said of the US. "But people can't wait until then to pick up a new hobby."

Most adults struggle to remember what they even liked to do as a kid, which is one of the reasons TV has become the national default leisure activity. Schulte recommends starting small: Set a timer for 30 minutes each day and practice developing the muscle of first remembering what you like to do and then giving it a try.

Beginning ballet

The best way to recover and "refresh your soul," as the Greeks described it, is to completely detach from work and take a proper break, according to Ciara Kelly, a lecturer in work psychology at The University of Sheffield.

Hobbies are particularly good for that, Kelly said, citing a 2019 study she led that found people who engaged in hobbies enjoyed improved confidence and saw benefits at their jobs.

The study's findings resonated with me. I had been an activity-driven adolescent, someone who found purpose and community in my hobbies and passions. I missed having an identity outside my work and media consumption.

So, I did what any rational 26-year-old journalist would: I signed up for a beginner's ballet class.

It was terrifying. I hadn't worn ballet slippers since I was four years old. I had no idea what the French words flying out of my teacher's mouth meant. My balance was terrible, and my flexibility left much to be desired.

In those first few weeks, I came dangerously close to quitting, nearly falling prey to the achievement-oriented culture that runs rampant in America.

"We're focused on doing and being the best — even in yoga classes — people have written about trying to outdo others as if we're in constant competition," Schulte told me. "But leisure requires none of that."

So, I kept going back. Even though I wasn't the best one in my class. Even though I sometimes (often) looked silly. And for 50 minutes every Monday night, I feel like a kid again.

If you enjoyed this story, be sure to follow Business Insider on Microsoft Start.

Javier Zayas Photography/Getty Images; Jenny Chang-Rodriguez/BI

Time in Bratsk , Irkutsk Oblast, Russia now

Tokyo 05:56PM
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Time zone info for Bratsk

The time in Bratsk is 13 hours ahead of the time in New York when New York is on standard time, and 12 hours ahead of the time in New York when New York is on daylight saving time.
Bratsk does not change between summer time and winter time.
The IANA time zone identifier for Bratsk is Asia/Irkutsk.

Time difference from Bratsk

Sunrise, sunset, day length and solar time for bratsk.

Sunrise: 04:26AM
Sunset: 09:59PM
Day length: 17h 33m
Solar noon: 01:12PM
The current local time in Bratsk is 72 minutes ahead of apparent solar time.

Bratsk on the map

Location: Irkutsk Oblast, Russia
Latitude: 56.13. Longitude: 101.61
Population: 257,000

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Friday, 7 June 2024

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Irkutsk Airport, IKT About 8 km ESE of Irkutsk
Ulan-Ude Airport, UUD About 224 km ESE of Irkutsk

Other cities near Irkutsk

Cities [ edit ]

52.283333 104.3 1 Irkutsk — the attractive capital and largest city; one of the principal stops on the Trans-Siberian Railway and the gateway to Lake Baikal
52.566667 103.916667 2 Angarsk — the second largest regional city is home to the Museum of Clocks
56.152 101.633 3 Bratsk — a relatively large city on the Baikal-Amur Mainline
51.853611 104.869167 4 Listvyanka — located on the shores of Lake Baikal
51.659444 103.706111 5 Slyudyanka - southernmost point of the Baikal, famous for its marble railway station and smoked omul
54.9 99.016667 6 Nizhneudinsk — a small city on the Trans-Siberian with a pretty church; located near some interesting caves and a waterfall along the Uda River
55.933333 98.016667 7 Tayshet — nothing much to see, but many stop at this important rail junction to begin the Baikal-Amur Mainline

Other destinations [ edit ]

53.302778 108.004722 2 Lake Baikal — located between Buryatia and Irkutsk Oblast , is the deepest and oldest lake in the world and also the planet's largest body of freshwater.
51.72865 103.72159 3 Circum-Baikal Railway
53.15 107.4 4 Olkhon — the largest island in lake Baikal is a real jewel, and worthy of the effort it takes to reach it.
51.8531 104.882 5 Pribaikalsky National Park

Understand [ edit ]

Irkutsk Oblast, in particular the capital Irkutsk and the shores of Lake Baikal , is likely Siberia 's top travel destination.

Talk [ edit ]

Russian is understood and spoken by all; some members of ethnic minorities (especially the Buryat) are bilingual and speak their native languages with one another.

Get in [ edit ]

By plane [ edit ].

Irkutsk Airport ( IKT IATA ) is one of Russia 's most important and receives international flights from Mongolia , China , South Korea , Thailand , and Uzbekistan . Domestic flights are available from most major Russian airports, including: Saint Petersburg , Moscow , Khabarovsk , Yekaterinburg , Vladivostok , and many others.

By train [ edit ]

Despite the importance of Irkutsk Airport, most travellers still arrive via the Trans-Siberian Railway , which stops at (from west to east): Taishet (junction with the Baikal-Amur Mainline ), Nizhneudinsk , Usolye-Sibirskoe , Angarsk , Irkutsk , among other less frequented settlements.

By car [ edit ]

Baikal Highway crosses the region from west to east. A bus from Ulan-Ude connects Irkutsk with Buryatia.

Get around [ edit ]

Bratsk and Ust-Orda are accessible via the Baikal-Amur Mainline from the Trans-Siberian Railway junction at Taishet.

Do [ edit ]

Camping out on one of Lake Baikal 's islands
Fishing galore
Rafting on Irkut river. Whitewater grade is 1-3 in some places of 150 km river.

Read [ edit ]

Michel Strogoff by Jules Verne.
Plays by Alexander Vampilov.
Writings by Valentin Rasputin.

Stay safe [ edit ]

While being in woods, beware of snakes that are commonly warming in the sun on the stones. There is not many of them but some may be vipers.
The other problem of this (and other regions of the North Hemisphere) is ticks. Their bites may be infectious. Usually vaccinations are taken beforehand.

Go next [ edit ]

Irkutsk Airport is a useful hub to jump off to different parts of the country.

For closer destinations, most will travel by the Trans-Siberian Railway , which leads to Kansk and further Krasnoyarsk in the west and to Ulan Ude in the east.

The Baikal-Amur Mainline , which runs on a parallel track to north of the Trans-Siberian, begins at Taishet in western Irkutsk Oblast and on to Severobaikalsk .

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Supercommuting almost 5 hours a day has become much more popular in expensive cities like New York, Phoenix, and Washington, DC

Supercommuting is on the rise, with more workers traveling over 75 miles to their jobs.
Hybrid work and rising urban housing costs have pushed workers to live farther from cities.
New York, Los Angeles, and Washington, DC, saw big increases in supercommuters since the pandemic.

Americans are on their way to work — and they probably still have a long way to go .

New research first reported by The Wall Street Journal shows that more workers are supercommuting , meaning they're traveling more than 75 miles each way for work. That can add up to nearly five hours a day spent commuting — a sacrifice more workers are willing to make as hybrid work expands the area they can call home.

The number of Americans making this long trek to work has skyrocketed since the pandemic. Using GPS data from car data software company INRIX including about 200,000 trips per city among big US metros, Stanford University economists Nick Bloom and Alex Finan determined that the share of supercommutes of at least 75 miles each way increased by 32% post-pandemic — representing 2.9% of total trips. Some trips, they found, are as long as five hours each way, with some starting their commutes at 3 a.m.

They further found that across the country's 10 largest cities, the share of commutes over 40 miles each way increased over the last few years, representing 18.5% of trips. That trend was consistent across each weekday.

Bloom and Finan compared data from between November 2019 and February 2020 to November 2023 to February 2024. They defined commute trips as starting outside downtown and ending in the downtown area between 7 a.m. and 10 a.m.

Bloom and Finan noted that because people are going into the office less — with many having moved out of cities to the suburbs — supercommuting has become more popular. The Survey of Working Arrangements and Attitudes , created by WFH Research, determined that working from home increased about fivefold from pre-pandemic to post-pandemic.

One silver lining of longer commutes is that trips are often faster than a comparable pre-pandemic trip, as working from home indirectly lessens traffic. Traffic speeds increased about 10% over this time period, Bloom and Finan found.

Watch: Consumers are "rebalancing" spending priorities in response to inflation, says Mastercard's head of marketing and communications

Main content

IMAGES

10+ Travel Timesheet Templates
When Do Employers Have to Pay Employees for Travel Time?
Travel time to and from work by departure time from home and work
Calculating Hours and Travel Time
How to Use a Travel Time Graph
10+ Travel Timesheet Templates

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COMMENTS

Travel Time
Time spent traveling during normal work hours is considered compensable work time. Time spent in home-to-work travel by an employee in an employer-provided vehicle, or in activities performed by an employee that are incidental to the use of the vehicle for commuting, generally is not "hours worked" and, therefore, does not have to be paid. This provision applies only if the travel is within ...
Hours of Work for Travel
In limited circumstances, travel time may be considered hours of work. The rules on travel hours of work depend on whether an employee is covered by or exempt from the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). For FLSA-exempt employees, the crediting of travel time as hours of work is governed under title 5 rules-in particular, 5 U.S.C. 5542(b)(2) and ...
Fact Sheet #22: Hours Worked Under the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA)
Travel That is All in a Day's Work: Time spent by an employee in travel as part of their principal activity, such as travel from job site to job site during the workday, is work time and must be counted as hours worked. Travel Away from Home Community: Travel that keeps an employee away from home overnight is travel away from home. Travel away ...
Travel Time Under The FLSA
Furthermore, as detailed in 29 CFR § 785.39 the employer must include travel time as hours worked is if the employee actually performs work while in transit. Employers must also count as hours worked time spent by employees traveling on non-workdays if the travel takes place during the employees' normal work hours.
FLSA Travel Time
Time spent traveling before 8:00 a.m. and after 5:00 p.m. would not need to be included - with one caveat, if the employee actually performs work while traveling, the employer must include the time spent working as hours worked. 29 CFR § 785.39. Also, employers must count as hours worked time spent by employees traveling on non-workdays if ...
Travel time as hours of work
How Much Travel Time is Creditable For Pay. When travel outside the normal workweek constitutes hours of work, the following rules will apply in determining the amount of time in a travel status that is deemed hours of work for premium pay: When is an employee in travel status. An employee is in a travel status only for those hours actually ...
Everything You Should Know About Travel Time To Work
Time spent traveling on a business trip within the hours they regularly work (9 a.m. to 5 p.m., for example) is eligible for travel pay. This includes travel time on weekends. For example, if an employee normally works from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. and leaves work at 2 p.m. to catch a flight for an overnight business trip, they should be paid for the ...
When is travel time considered as hours worked?
However, travel time is considered as hours worked when: (1) employee is called to travel during emergency; (2) travel is done through a conveyance furnished by the employer; (3) travel is done under vexing and dangerous circumstances; and (4) travel is done under the supervision and control of the employer. "Travel that is all in a day's ...
Why and When to Pay Employees For Travel Time
In other words, compensation for travel time tends to be a non-exempt affair. For both salaried and hourly non-exempt employees, work-related travel time — other than an employee's regular commute to and from work — should generally be compensated and count toward an employee's hours worked for the purposes of calculating overtime.
Travel Time
Travel that is all in a day's work, however, is considered hours worked and must be paid. Example: Barbara is a personal care aide providing assistance to Mr. Jones. Barbara drives him to the Post Office and grocery store during the workday. Barbara is working and the travel time must be paid.
elaws
FLSA Hours Worked Advisor. Travel Time. The principles which apply in determining whether or not time spent traveling is hours worked depend upon the kind of travel involved. This section is designed to help you make this determination. I want to know more about: Home-to-Work and Return Travel. Home-to-Work and Return Travel, Employer's Vehicle.
Do We Have to Pay for That? Part 2—Travel and Commute Time (in a Post
Conversely, travel time that occurs outside the employee's "normal working hours" need not be counted as time worked, regardless of whether the travel occurs on a weekday or a weekend. These principles are codified in the "travel away from home" rule in 29 C.F.R. § 785.39 .
Compensatory Time Off for Travel
In this example, the employee's compensatory time off for travel entitlement is as follows: Total travel time: 17.5 hours. minus. Travel time within regular working hours: 8.5 hours. Travel from airport within limits of official duty station: 1 hour. Compensatory time off for travel: 8 hours.
Travel Time to Work: Definition, Benefits and FAQs
Benefits of considering travel time to work. Travel time to work is important to consider when moving, deciding whether to accept a job offer or assessing if you're receiving fair compensation for your hours worked. Considering your travel time can also help you: Improve your happiness: Finding a shorter commute can help you avoid traffic ...
When Do Employers Have to Pay Employees for Travel Time?
This gives them an extra $90 (which is 8 hours multiplied by $11.25 per hour). Add these together, and their total straight-time pay for the week is $690. Now, to figure out their average rate for the week (including travel time and regular office time), you need to divide this total pay by their total hours worked.
PDF Administrative Policy ES.C
See WAC 296-126-002(8); WAC 296-128-600(9); see also Administrative Policy ES.C.1. An analysis of "hours worked" must be determined on a case-by-case basis, depending on the facts. The definition of "hours worked" is satisfied if all three of these elements are met: An employee is authorized or required by the employer: Is the time ...
Compensatory Time Off for Travel
Under the provisions in 5 U.S.C. 5542(b)(2)(B) and 5 CFR 550.112(g)(2), travel time is compensable as overtime hours of work if the travel is away from the employee's official duty station and— (i) involves the performance of work while traveling, (ii) is incident to travel that involves the performance of work while traveling,
If someone travels for their job
If an employer wants to count this travel time as working time, they can. Travel time while at work will usually count as working time, for example when travelling: from one client to the next; from an office to a meeting elsewhere; Find out about the maximum hours an employee can work in a week. If the employee has no fixed place of work
Paid Travel Time to Work: Guide with Types and Examples
Travel time to work and back is also known as commuting. It's a typical part of the day for people employed outside their homes. ... change residences or determine if you're receiving fair compensation for your worked hours. In many cases, an employer probably doesn't pay for commute time as it's considered an ordinary circumstance in your ...
Time Duration Calculator
The goal is to subtract the starting time from the ending time under the correct conditions. If the times are not already in 24-hour time, convert them to 24-hour time. AM hours are the same in both 12-hour and 24-hour time. For PM hours, add 12 to the number to convert it to 24-hour time. For example, 1:00 PM would be 13:00 in 24-hour time.
Understanding FMLA Hours: What Does and Doesn't Count
"Hours worked" includes all the time an employee is required to be on duty at the employer's premises or any other workplace. This definition aligns with the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) standards. Regular work hours. These are the hours an employee is scheduled to work, including full-time or part-time. Every hour of work in this ...
Americans have between 4 and 6 hours of leisure time daily. We ...
In 2022, men spent an average of 5.6 hours engaging in leisure activities each day, while women clocked in 4.8 hours of free time, according to the study. Five hours of free time a day? That can't ...
Time in Bratsk, Irkutsk Oblast, Russia now
Sunrise, sunset, day length and solar time for Bratsk. Sunrise: 04:31AM. Sunset: 09:51PM. Day length: 17h 20m. Solar noon: 01:11PM. The current local time in Bratsk is 71 minutes ahead of apparent solar time.
Current Local Time in Irkutsk, Russia
Current local time in Russia - Irkutsk. Get Irkutsk's weather and area codes, time zone and DST. Explore Irkutsk's sunrise and sunset, moonrise and moonset.
Bratsk
1200 руб (7 hours) By bus [edit] 800 руб (10 hours) By train [edit] 1250 руб 2nd class (17 hours) Get around [edit] See [edit] Angara Village Museum. Angara village, an open-air museum in some distance from Bratsk featuring Russian houses, the church and utensils of XVII—XX centuries as well as Evenk chums. Do [edit] Buy [edit] Eat ...
Irkutsk Oblast
This region travel guide to Irkutsk Oblast is an outline and may need more content. It has a template, but there is not enough information present. If there are Cities and Other destinations listed, they may not all be at usable status or there may not be a valid regional structure and a "Get in" section describing all of the typical ways to get here. . Please plunge forward and help i
More Americans Supercommuting 75 Miles to Work
The number of Americans making this long trek to work has skyrocketed since the pandemic. Using GPS data from car data software company INRIX including about 200,000 trips per city among big US ...