Is it justifiable to charge your hourly rate while travelling?

[Freakbro]

Just thought I'd ask GD's opinion on this.

As per the title, if you are calling out a tradesman, is it justifiable for them to charge their hourly rate while traveling to the job?

I've had this a couple of times now and I queried it on the first one where they charged £455 + vat labour (for 1 days 'work') most of which involved the round trip from Kent to Lincs, charged at £35 / hour while traveling (especially when a lot of these jobs should have been done when the equipment was at their warehouse)

After I made a fuss they changed it to £150 travel and £50 labour, which I then happily paid.

I'm just now sitting looking at another invoice for a service on a vacuum packing machine, with labour of £333.50 + VAT, with 7.15 hours booked at £46 / hour - the majority of that again being 2 trips from Derby to Lincs

Now I'm happy to pay these hourly rates when they are doing their skilled job, but not when traveling, for being stuck in traffic etc

Now I know the argument can be it's their time whatever they are doing, but surely you should just charge a reasonable call out/travel charge (pence per mile etc) and if the job is too far away to be worth your time then don't take it.

 

[Freakbro]

It depends. I make sure it's agreed beforehand.

However my take on it is that generally, hourly rates include travel to and from the place of work. If they don't like that then they don't have to take the job.

What the contractors I use often do is have a travel/mobilisation fee above a certain distance (normally 50 miles).

That's pretty much my take on it

Absolutely right to pay. You're paying for their time as well as their work. Why aren't you using a closer tradesman?

Unfortunately it's not me organising the work, else I would check this beforehand or as you say get a closer tradesman if they said they were charging per hour for travel. I'm the accountant who just gets the paperwork and has to pay the bills.

And like I said I'm not expecting them to travel for free, but also I'm not expecting them to charge their 'skilled' labour charge while driving. If it's not worth their time to travel, then don't accept the job.

 

[Freakbro]

off course its reasonable, you want them to take a pay cut because your not hiring a local person.

why would they turn down the job, you've assumedly got a quote which includes the travel at full rate, its for you to turn them down. not the other way around.

Knowing the people in the shop, you would assume wrongly on that one.

Hell, the bill wasn't even opened from the envelope by the time it's reached me (already over 1 month from invoice date....)

Just looking to gauge peoples reaction, which at the min is on the justified side. Well, the first company immediately knocked £250 off their charge when I queried it - so it's worth raising the issue anyway, which I'll do on Monday

 

[Freakbro]

It's a business expense. He should factor the average travelling times into his hourly rate using sensible apportionment, just like he factors in his van depreciation, his tools, his insurance..

In effect then he is paid for his travelling - as it's an apportioned cost -

Exactly. And I wouldn't complain if that was limited to a certain radius, with a ppm over the base distance.