THE QUESTION
I’m a junior accountant at a major firm in Toronto. I was recently put on a new file with a client in Calgary which requires in-person work at their offices. I fly out from Toronto on Sunday afternoon to start work there Monday morning. My hours are 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. and I stay overnight in Calgary until Friday at 4 p.m., when I’d leave “early” to head to the airport and catch a flight home, arriving at 2 a.m. on Saturday morning. Then I’d fly out again Sunday afternoon. I haven’t been getting any extra compensation for these hours and travel. What am I entitled to?
THE FIRST ANSWER
Sophie Purnell, employment lawyer, Purnell Employment Law, Calgary
You may be entitled to a travel allowance. A travel allowance is extra compensation provided to employees who are required to travel on a recurrent basis as part of their job responsibilities. The purpose of the allowance is to assist employees with the time and expenses associated with travel to the work site. Employers are expected to cover reasonable expenses related to your business travel so make sure to keep a detailed record of your expenses.
The amount of the travel allowance can vary based on the distance between your usual workplace and the assigned work site and may be adjusted to reflect market conditions. Check if your company has policies – whether in writing or informal – regarding compensation for business travel. Companies with employees who frequently travel as part of their duties generally have policies regarding compensation for business travel. Review your employment contract to determine if you are entitled to compensation for business travel. If your employer refuses to provide you with extra compensation, you may want to speak with an employment lawyer about your options.
There are minimum standards employers must follow when it comes to overtime pay and hours of work. Generally, employees who work more than 44 hours in a week are entitled to overtime pay. However, these minimum standards for overtime pay and hours of work do not apply to certain industries and jobs. In Ontario, for example, public accountants and public accountancy students are exempt from overtime pay.
THE SECOND ANSWER
Balraj K. Dosanjh, employment lawyer, Cavalluzzo LLP, Toronto
Generally, an employee is not entitled to be paid for the time they spend commuting to and from work. However, if an employer requires you to travel to a location other than your usual workplace for work purposes, all time spent travelling to and from that location is considered “working” time. Now, whether you are entitled to be paid for this travel time depends on the provincial minimum standards legislation rules and the terms of your employment contract. It is important to note that certain professions are exempt from the minimum wage, hours of work and overtime rules (meaning you are not required to be paid for every hour worked) under provincial legislation.
In Ontario, the Employment Standards Act exempts professionals working in “public accounting” from the minimum wage, hours of work and overtime rules. You are likely caught under this exemption as “public accounting” means you have the Certified Public Accountant designation and you service more than one client, which it sounds like you do. Accordingly, you are not required to receive extra pay for travel time or overtime hours unless your employment contract provides otherwise.
Your employment contract may address travel time and overtime and your employer should be abiding by its terms. If, for example, your employment agreement indicates that you should be paid for travel time or entitles you to receive overtime pay for hours worked in excess of your regular work week, then your time spent travelling and the extra hours at the Calgary office ought to be compensated. I also note that if servicing this client and the hours involved is a significant departure from your original position, you may be able to argue a fundamental breach of the employment agreement. I suggest you speak to a lawyer about this option.
Even if your employment contract does not entitle you to be paid for the travel or overtime, it is a good idea to speak to your employer about the disruption to your personal life from the frequent travel, as they may be willing to offer time off in lieu of pay and/or an incentive payment. You may also wish to ask that your travel time be during the work week with accordingly fewer hours at the Calgary office. Finally, it is not clear from your question if you are also paying for the cost of travel. As you are strictly travelling for work purposes, your employer should be paying for the travel and accommodation costs.
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Andrea Yu