Travel Time as Work Time? Nature and Scope of Canadian Labor Law’s Protections for Mobile Workers

Abstract

The spectrum of employment-related geographical mobility ranges from hours-long daily commutes to journeys that take workers away from home for an extended period of time. Although distance and travel conditions vary, there is a strong consensus within existing literature that mobility has physical, psychological and social repercussions. However, is time spent travelling considered as working time? This question is crucial as it dictates whether or not workers can effectively access different sets of labor rights. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, contributing to a deeper understanding of travel time by offering a more sustained and complex representation of the various employment-related travel schemes. Second, assessing the circumstances under which travel time counts as work time with regards to the employment standards legislation in force in four Canadian provinces : Quebec, Ontario, Alberta and British Colombia.

By the numbers: the construction industry in Canada from 1986 to 2016

“…Furthermore, as we saw in Figure 3, another one of these demands is commute time, for which workers are often not paid since commuting time is often not considered to be work time (Gesualdi-Fecteau et al 2019). Commute time is compensated only when workers are completing tasks under the direction of the employer while travelling to and from a location (Gesualdi-Fecteau et al 2019).…”

“…Furthermore, as we saw in Figure 3, another one of these demands is commute time, for which workers are often not paid since commuting time is often not considered to be work time (Gesualdi-Fecteau et al 2019). Commute time is compensated only when workers are completing tasks under the direction of the employer while travelling to and from a location (Gesualdi-Fecteau et al 2019). Indeed, long commute times can negatively affect workers especially when they have irregular schedules such as split shifts and when they need to pay for services while they are on commute such as daycare (Gesualdi-Fecteau et al 2019).…”

“…Commute time is compensated only when workers are completing tasks under the direction of the employer while travelling to and from a location (Gesualdi-Fecteau et al 2019). Indeed, long commute times can negatively affect workers especially when they have irregular schedules such as split shifts and when they need to pay for services while they are on commute such as daycare (Gesualdi-Fecteau et al 2019). In some jurisdictions, the average commute time for a construction worker exceeds an hour a day.…”

“…The commute time variable potentially misses commutes throughout the day, since the question asks how long individuals commute to and from work only, not journeys during the day. Also, many construction workers travel every work rotation, which could be weekly or monthly, to a marshalling point, wherein they meet as a group to continue to another work location (Gesualdi-Fecteau et al 2019). The variable may also miss commute that lasts for an extended period of time as many workers engage in intra-and inter-urban travelling, urban to rural or rural to urban commute, as well as inter-provincial journeys from time to time (Gesualdi-Fecteau et al 2019).…”

Regulating Health and Safety and Workers’ Compensation in Canada for the Mobile Workforce: Now You See Them, Now You Don’t

“…n Some criteria used in decision-making can allow workplace parties to facilitate access to coverage and avoid litigation. For example, when a worker is unionized, decision-makers look to the collective agreement to see if the workplace parties intended for travel to be considered as part of the job, 17 as when provisions require that the employer pay for transit to the worker's home if she finishes work late at night. o There are circumstances where a transit accident is clearly covered by WC legislation in most provinces, for example, an accident occurring while the worker is on an overseas mission prescribed by the employer.…”