Travel to another ClientCo site

[Swamp Thing]

This should really be a B2B arrangement, i.e. the total number of hours you spent on the task door-to-door, minus your usual commuting hours to/from your client’s UK place of work. I do this a lot when travelling around the EU. E.g. I get up at 4.00am to go to Heathrow. I arrive in Budapest and work until 7.00pm local time with the client. That’s 14 hours. My UK commuting time is 1 hr each way. So I bill 12 hrs to the client. The client has never blinked; this is simply quantum meruit.

[BlackenedBiker]

A big consultancy will have it in the contract about whether they can bill for travelling time or not. Or certainly agree it in advance about whether they can charge or not. Try it.

Thought that I had, based on previous agreements over travel

[TheFaQQer]

Ask a big consultancy to do this and they will refuse. Should my consultancy business be any different? Think not!

A big consultancy will have it in the contract about whether they can bill for travelling time or not. Or certainly agree it in advance about whether they can charge or not. Try it.

[Pondlife]

Is this wrong?

No, it isn't wrong. That wasn't the point I was making. It was the comparison to Big Cos that I disagreed with.

Your Co is perfectly within it's rights to charge for all work done in line with the SoW included within your contract.

Personally, If I'm travelling long haul I'll bill for the day in transit and whenever possible do it during a working day. If it's euro (like most weeks) I'll travel in the evening but ensure that there's some goodwill from the client. i.e. If I have personal business to do during the working day or more flexible working from home on a Mon or Fri.

I suppose it depends on your client/daily or hourly rate/type of business.

[BlackenedBiker]

Travel expenses isn't travelling time. And you pay the £1500 regardless

My point was/is, as long as Big Co gets their travel expenses back they don't give a fuq how much that inconveniences the poor sap who has to travel.

And my co has the same consideration, I get paid no more than normal. However as a commercial entity, it seems ludicrous to do work for free.

People talking about reputation, seriously, is that a real issue in a commercial situation. It seems like business idiocy "I forego payment to increase my reputation".

I have the statement "My work and output is what I build my reputation on. My business is commercially savvie and will bill commensurately for travel away from the Clientco base"

Is this wrong?

[Pondlife]

A big five consultancy will charge £1500 per day per consultant and will claim travel expenses as well.

Sounds like they are charging to me

Travel expenses isn't travelling time. And you pay the £1500 regardless

My point was/is, as long as Big Co gets their travel expenses back they don't give a fuq how much that inconveniences the poor sap who has to travel.

[BlackenedBiker]

I disagree. The big guys are always getting the hired help to travel at all hours as part of their meagre salary.

Which I reckon, is why you'll find so many of them on here now.

A big five consultancy will charge £1500 per day per consultant and will claim travel expenses as well.

Sounds like they are charging to me

[Pondlife]

Ask a big consultancy to do this and they will refuse. Should my consultancy business be any different? Think not!

I disagree. The big guys are always getting the hired help to travel at all hours as part of their meagre salary.

Which I reckon, is why you'll find so many of them on here now.

[BlackenedBiker]

WHS.

Pretty gobsmacked that you didn't get it in writing that you were going to be paid for the excess hours before you went. I certainly wouldn't do any form of travel overtime without getting paid for it or having it as time off in lieu. And, of course, making sure all of this was in an email before I did it.

Nomadd

I hear that, however I had already been paid for a trip to the south of France on a door-to-door basis. I assumed therefore that it had been agreed and that I would not need to agree in writing for every future time that I travelled. I was wrong.....

I would not normally claim for my travel time but these were very anti-social circumstances. 3:30 AM and 10PM are not normal working days and I am not even charging overtime rates, just a flat rate.

Ask a big consultancy to do this and they will refuse. Should my consultancy business be any different? Think not!

[RichardCranium]

As it isn't in the contract, ask them what they would do for one of their permies in the same position and ask for the same treatment.

They can't argue with that.

[nomadd]

Should have got it all agreed before you travelled, not after.

WHS.

Pretty gobsmacked that you didn't get it in writing that you were going to be paid for the excess hours before you went. I certainly wouldn't do any form of travel overtime without getting paid for it or having it as time off in lieu. And, of course, making sure all of this was in an email before I did it.

Nomadd

[BolshieBastard]

My situation was that last week I was asked to travel to Poland on ClientCo business. I had to leave the house at 03:30 to drive to the airport.

On return the next day I did not get back to my house until 10PM.

I put from time I left house until time I got back to hotel on first day of travel and time I left hotel until time I got to my house door on the second day.

The ClientCo are refusing to approve timesheet, even though I travelled for them 3 weeks ago, booked my time on the same premise and they paid it.

I have looked in my contract and it says nothing about travel one way or another.

Where do I stand????

****ed Id say. Client doesnt seem intent on signing your timesheet based on what you claimed.

Should have got it all agreed before you travelled, not after.

Learn from the experience.

[northernladuk]

How often are you going to be asked to travel? How are you with the client?
Are you paid hourly or daily? Did they give you options to travel i.e. during work time.

There is not enough information for us to make a reasonble opinion on your situation in my opinion. All we can do is give you examples of our situations.

I used to be paid daily and I was asked to travel very infrequently and a trip to Poland sounds like a bit of an experience. I got on well with client, enjoyed my job and didn't clock watch or act like a typical lazy contractor. In return I got the odd few hours off for dentist and car problems etc

I did the work, booked a normal day and banked a bit of good will that I was pretty sure would be returned when I required it and my reputation stayed good.

I put from time I left house until time I got back to hotel on first day of travel and time I left hotel until time I got to my house door on the second day.

Again not enough information. How many hours do you spend travelling normally? It isn't normal to incude travel from your door to a location in a situation like this. It would be a compromise against what you normally commute. i.e. the extra above and beyond a normal day.

[BlackenedBiker]

My situation was that last week I was asked to travel to Poland on ClientCo business. I had to leave the house at 03:30 to drive to the airport.

On return the next day I did not get back to my house until 10PM.

I put from time I left house until time I got back to hotel on first day of travel and time I left hotel until time I got to my house door on the second day.

The ClientCo are refusing to approve timesheet, even though I travelled for them 3 weeks ago, booked my time on the same premise and they paid it.

I have looked in my contract and it says nothing about travel one way or another.

Where do I stand????