Is it justifiable to charge your hourly rate while travelling?

[Nevakonaza]

I would never have someone that has a call out charge,At the end of the day its their job..if they dont travel there well then the job they're getting paid to do,Wont get done.
Its up to them if they want to travel miles away.

Should i ask my employer for extra money because i push bike it to and from work each day?,You guys that drive should ask your employers to pay for your petrol..maybe even ask they to pay you extra because you have to get up.

 

[HardwareGeek]

I would never have someone that has a call out charge,At the end of the day its their job..if they dont travel there well then the job they're getting paid to do,Wont get done.
Its up to them if they want to travel miles away.

Should i ask my employer for extra money because i push bike it to and from work each day?,You guys that drive should ask your employers to pay for your petrol..maybe even ask they to pay you extra because you have to get up.

Your argument doesn't work, your currently happy with your pay vs. your travel time i assume, but if your employer doubled your travel time i would assume you would want some compensation for this? or would you just give up the extra time for free?

Also if you had a choice of employers then a job further away with longer travel time would have to pay more to compensate you? or would you travel further for the same pay and be worse off?

 

[[TW]Fox]

Your argument doesn't work, your currently happy with your pay vs. your travel time i assume, but if your employer doubled your travel time i would assume you would want some compensation for this? or would you just give up the extra time for free?

Also if you had a choice of employers then a job further away with longer travel time would have to pay more to compensate you? or would you travel further for the same pay and be worse off?

This is not the same thing as operating a business, though, is it? But even if it was, there is no legal obligation on an employer to continue to pay relocation expenses indefinitely and lots of people find an office moves further away for no extra pay.

Thats not to say that you should travel for free - just make sure your costings are sufficiently well planned that your travel time is included in your daily rate. That way you get your time paid for but the customer doesn't feel like you are taking the ****. Everyone wins..

Like the example above - if your tool breaks on the job you don't charge the customer for a new tool. However in reality the customer IS paying for that new tool, not you, because a robust costing system ensures that equipment costs are apportioned correctly.

 

[muon]

So what do people think of food takeaway companies charging more for delivery by radius?

 

[dowie]

I think it depends...

for a tradesman who might other wise be doing 2 - 3 other jobs in a day if they've got to travel 2-3 hours then do one job then travel back a couple of hours or so then I think they're being quite fair in asking that they're compensated for travel as they're now only squeezing in one job. I mean alternatively they could simply turn down the job or you could be left trying to source other tradesmen who have similar issues (or perhaps end up with a not so good tradesman that is desperate for the work).


on the other hand when I've worked at a client site I will perhaps fly in on a Monday morning and fly out on a Friday after lunch. In order to make sure I've billed at least a full 5 days of work I'd have to work a bit later on Monday - Wednesday (possibly Thursday too but I like to have at least one night where I get a bit more time for socialising etc..)... Client pays for flights, hotel and a generous per diem cash allowance but I couldn't log any billable hours for the time I'd spent traveling.

 

[[TW]Fox]

So what do people think of food takeaway companies charging more for delivery by radius?

I've never used one that does, but I am sure they exist.

This seems different as part of the service you are buying is food delivery. It's part courier service, part food preparation service.

That said I can't imagine its that common, most places just have a fixed radius and 'free delivery' - which is of course not free, it's just properly accounted for in the cost of the product

 

[SpeedFreak]

I think a tradesperson should factor this into their hoursly rate and modify their call out rate based on travel only if it exceeds an acceptable radius/travel time for them.

 

[UTmaniac]

If I was going to be billed for travel time, I'd expect that to be made very clear before I agreed to let them take the job, not applied retrospectively to an invoice.

Isn't it still standard these days for "tradesmen" to have set call-out charge for travel time and then an hourly rate once they arrive on-site, with a minimum total charge of £x?

 

[kindai]

Nope, either quote a rate including your travel built in, or dont take jobs so far away you need to bill your customer for the time....

 

[Deleted member 66701]

If I'm attending a customer site for an hour and it's an hour travel each way - they get charged 3hrs - those two hours "travelling" I cannot use for other "skilled and productive work". However, the client has a quote in advance, so the the invoice is never a surprise to them.

My billable time starts from the time I leave my door to the time I get back. If I'm seeing a second client after the first, then the

 

[itchy]

I don't charge at all for travel time, you want it fixed you bring it to me and then collect once fixed. If it cannot be fixed it goes into my plunder pile and then to recycling.

Sod that driving around and sitting in strange gaffs, I been to a few and nipped it in the bud pretty fast.

One punter I arrived at, I said where is the PC they said "In the bedroom", I was like nope but had to do it anyway. You should have seen the bedroom, I showered with bleach and wire wool after that job.

 

[Peerzy]

If I'm attending a customer site for an hour and it's an hour travel each way - they get charged 3hrs - those two hours "travelling" I cannot use for other "skilled and productive work". However, the client has a quote in advance, so the the invoice is never a surprise to them.

My billable time starts from the time I leave my door to the time I get back. If I'm seeing a second client after the first, then the

Why are you billing people - you are retired?

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Why are you billing people - you are retired?

Building a portfolio for Masters/PhD application.

 

[Em3bbs]

Building a portfolio for Masters/PhD application.

It's fine to use the word unemployed rather than retired dude.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

It's fine to use the word unemployed rather than retired dude.

Retired definition:- withdrawn from or no longer occupied with one's business or profession:a retired banker.

I was professionally a software engineer and I have retired from being a software engineer. I now no longer have a profession and I have retired from working life as I no longer need to work to cover living expenses, that's covered by my retirement income.

Definition of unemployed:- Unemployment occurs when a person who is actively searching for employment is unable to find work.

I am neither actively seeking work (beyond building a portfolio) nor am I unable to find work, therefore the term "unemployed" does not seem appropriate.

 

[[TW]Fox]

Retirement sounds great - you get to go to Uni full time, then you get to have clients, do work for them, bill them for travelling time, etc. It sounds as fun as going to Uni then going to work

Retired people don't do PHD's either, given it's a paid position...

 

[muon]

That retired definition isn't the correct one. That definition, is more in the sense that a football player retires at 35 etc.

Gary Lineker is a retired football player. However, he hasn't retired from work.

 

[sports_brah]

I was professionally a software engineer and I have retired from being a software engineer. I now no longer have a profession and I have retired from working life as I no longer need to work to cover living expenses, that's covered by my retirement income.



I am neither actively seeking work (beyond building a portfolio) nor am I unable to find work, therefore the term "unemployed" does not seem appropriate.

And the fact your wife is a deputy head doesn't hurt....

 

[Em3bbs]

I was professionally a software engineer and I have retired from being a software engineer. I now no longer have a profession and I have retired from working life as I no longer need to work to cover living expenses, that's covered by my retirement income.

I am neither actively seeking work (beyond building a portfolio) nor am I unable to find work, therefore the term "unemployed" does not seem appropriate.

Whatever makes you feel good dude. Good luck with your retirement.

 

[Deleted member 66701]

Fine, I'm not retired.

I'm a freelance web developer with the freedom of choosing the work I like the look of or enjoy the most and I'm also a student studying full time at Uni for a degree and I'm a house husband with responsibility for three children.