So I won’t go into all the detail, but I live and work in Ontario, Canada and we have it pretty good in regards to labour law. I am a permanent remote worker but typically travel to a company facility about 2hrs away every 6-8 weeks for the day.
My employers HQ is in another province for reference.
Anyways, they cover my travel expenses (mileage, any tolls etc) however they refuse to acknowledge my travel time to and from as per the ESA 2000. (For reference it says a worker who is required to go to a different place of work other than their primary must be paid for their travel time). Note: this does not apply to exempt employees or those whose primary job function requires travel.
My manager was not aware of this and when I made them aware they said they’d check with HR. Of course HR has decided that the law doesn’t apply to them because they want to ignore it.
Not the first company that’s tried to pull this s**t. Last one didn’t want to pay for travel time either when I went on quarterly business trips, but fortunately their employment lawyer told them they had no choice.
I guess the silver lining is boss agreed with me that I will only travel during my working hours and not have to “make up” the time.
Anyways I know I could have it worse, but doesn’t mean it’s not frustrating.
Before you tell me to “find a new job” – I’ve put in over 100 applications in the last 9 months, had two interviews and been “recruited” but sketchy startups or jobs offering me less than 1/2 my current salary (I don’t even make average for my geographic region).