Home Care and Travel Time Pay: What are your Obligations?

In a home care context, travel time usually refers to the time care workers spend travelling between client visits during their working day. Examples include:

• Travelling from one person’s home to the next for scheduled visits
• Travelling between calls when rotas change at short notice
• Travelling between different locations as part of a regular run or round

Because home care is typically delivered in short visits (for example, 30–45 minutes), travel can make up a significant portion of a worker’s day. If this time is not properly recognised and paid, hourly pay can fall below the legal minimum once travel time is factored in.

In many situations, yes, workers must be paid for travel time. UK government guidance makes clear that time spent travelling between appointments during the working day usually counts as working time for National Minimum Wage purposes. In practice, this means:

• If a worker is paid by the hour, their total pay divided by their total working time (including travel between visits) must meet or exceed the National Minimum or Living Wage.
• If a worker is paid per visit or by another method, the pay still needs to be high enough that, when spread across all working time (including eligible travel time), it does not drop below the National Minimum or Living Wage.

However, not all travel is treated the same way, which we will look in to in more depth as it can cause confusion.

Some types of travel generally do not count towards NMW working time, including:

• Commuting from home to the first visit of the day - Example: leaving home and travelling to the first client’s house.
• Commuting from the last visit back home - Example: travelling from the final call of the day back to the worker’s own home.
• Unpaid breaks where the worker is genuinely free - If a worker has a period long enough to use as they wish (for example, a long break between runs where they are not required to be available), that time may not count as working time.

However, this can become complex if:

1. Breaks between calls are very short
2. Workers are expected to remain available, on‑call or close to the next client
3. There is uncertainty about whether a period counts as a break or waiting time

Because the rules can be nuanced and fact‑specific, providers should always refer to the latest government and ACAS guidance and seek professional advice for complex situations.

There is no single mandated way to present travel pay on a payslip, but you must be able to show that, overall, workers receive at least the National Minimum Wage or National Living Wage (NLW) for every hour of working time, including eligible travel time. A simple approach is:

1. Calculate total working time for the pay period - Add up all hours spent:

• Delivering care visits
• Travelling between visits
• Attending mandatory training or meetings
• Other work duties, such as completing care notes, if done in working time

2. Calculate total pay for the pay period - Include basic pay, travel pay, enhancements and other earnings that count towards NMW.

3. Check compliance - Divide total pay by total working hours, the result must be at or above the applicable NMW/NLW rate.

See a simplified example below: 

• Total hours delivering care: 25
• Travel time between visits: 7
• Mandatory meeting and training: 2
• Total working time: 34 hours
• Total pay for period: £420
• Effective hourly rate = £420 ÷ 34 ≈ £12.35
• If the NMW/NLW for that worker is, for example, ££12.71, this would NOT be compliant.

Home care providers can often run into problems when:

Only paid visit time is counted

Travel time is ignored when checking NMW and rota design, so effective hourly pay across all working time falls below the legal minimum.

Rotas are unrealistic

Schedules do not allow enough time to travel between visits safely, leading to increased stress, rushed care and unpaid “extra” minutes.

Travel time is paid at a different rate but not monitored

Some providers pay a lower rate for travel, or only pay for part of the journey, without checking that total pay across all working time still meets NMW.

Record‑keeping is incomplete

If accurate records of travel, visit times and breaks are not kept, it becomes difficult to demonstrate compliance during an HMRC investigation.

Providers using integrated rostering, time & attendance and payroll systems can track visit durations and travel time more accurately. This makes it easier to spot where effective hourly pay may dip and to adjust rates, rotas or runs accordingly.

HMRC has powers to investigate employers and enforce NMW compliance. If they find that staff have been underpaid because travel time has not been properly considered, they can require employers to repay arrears of wages to workers, issue financial penalties and in certain circumstances, publicly name non-compliant employers. 

Beyond the financial impact, non-compliance can also: 

• Damage your reputation with current and prospective staff through poor feedback
• Make recruitment and care staff retention even more difficult in a competitive labour market
• Raise questions about governance, leadership and workforce wellbeing during regulatory inspections

For social care providers, who rely heavily on their local reputation and staff loyalty, the risks are significant.

Travel time pay is a sensitive topic for care workers and a complex one for providers. By understanding the rules, designing realistic rotas and using the right technology, you can protect your organisation and show your workforce that you value their time.

While the legal framework can be complex, digital systems can make day‑to‑day management much simpler. Key ways technology helps include:

1. Smarter rota planning and route optimisation

• Build rotas that allow realistic travel time between visits.
• Reduce unnecessary mileage and gaps, improving both efficiency and staff experience.

2. Accurate recording of visit and travel time

• Use electronic call monitoring (ECM) or mobile apps to log arrival and departure times.
• Use postcode‑to‑postcode time estimates or GPS data (where appropriate and lawful) to better understand travel time patterns.

3. Automatic NMW checks

• Integrate scheduling and payroll so you can see effective hourly pay across working time, including eligible travel.
• Run exception reports to flag workers at risk of falling below NMW.

4. Clear audit trails

• Generate reports for HMRC, commissioners and regulators showing how you calculate working time, travel and pay.
• Demonstrate proactive management of workforce wellbeing and fairness.

If you would like an easy solution that ticks all of these boxes and more, you should consider Access Home Care Software. Managing travel time, building compliant rotas, ensuring fair pay, and maintaining accurate audit trails can be overwhelming for even the most experienced home care teams. If you want a solution that brings all of this together in one place, our platform gives you everything you need to become efficient and confident. 

Using Access Home Care Software will help you work smarter, maintain compliance and treat your workforce fairly without the administrative burden. If you would like to learn more, get in touch with one of our experts today or book your free demo.