Summary
Definition of business travel time
Professional travel time, recognized by the Minister at the time Jean-Louis Borloo, is defined as follows:
- time to business trip corresponds to the time taken by the employee to go from his home to his place of work;
- travel time also includes the return journey: place of work to place of residence;
- this travel time is not considered to be actual working time ;
- it does not matter, from this point of view, that his travel time is extended due to particular circumstances such as a traffic jam or a public transport strike;
- it should not be confused with travel time to go from the workplace to a construction site or to visit a customer.
In this specific case, we will talk about mission time and this will always be considered as effective working time.
(Cf. law n° 2005-32 on social cohesion of January 19, 2005, article 69; Article L. 3121-4 of the Labor Code).
What the law provides for in the event of an overrun
If the time of business trip exceeds the normal travel time between home and the usual place of work, it must be compensated either in the form of rest or financial compensation.
The implementation of this compensation can be done by:
- agreement or collective agreement;
- or failing that, by unilateral decision of the employer after consultation with the works council or staff representatives, if they exist.
Why a law?
The law of 2005 aimed to bring some “order” to the subject of “business travel time”.
Indeed, a stoppage of the Court of Cassation of November 5, 2003, confirmed the following year, had considered that when the travel time was greater than the normal time, then the overrun was effective working time.
The 2005 law and its section 69 thwarts this position of the judges and puts an end to various and varied interpretations.
Numerical example
The employee leaves his home at 7:30 a.m. to start his work 8am.
The normal travel time is therefore 30 minutes.
Example 1 :
His employer asks him to go directly to a construction site where he must be present at 8am.
This construction site is located at 1h30 from his home.
The business travel time is therefore greater than the normal travel time.
The overrun is one hour: 1h30 – 30 minutes.
This hour must be compensated by rest or financial compensation.
Example 2 :
The employee must go and visit a customer located 2 hours from his home.
The appointment is set for 10am in the morning.
The employee will therefore leave his home at 8am.
The portion of business travel time that coincides with working hours (the employee must start work at 8 a.m.) must not result in loss of pay.
(See Article L 3121-4 of the Labor Code).
Our tips:
Payroll managers must know the places of residence of all employees.
Employees must also make sure to report any change in their personal address in order to allow the management of business travel times.