The basic principle is that travel to and from the normal place of work is leisure time and not part of working hours. The employee is not normally at the employer's disposal during the journey. It is common for employees to regulate their own commuting distance and to be able to interrupt their journey to carry out private errands. When is travel time considered working time?

I arbeidsmiljøloven er arbeidstid definert som «den tid arbeidstaker står til disposisjon for arbeidsgiver». Lovens definisjon av arbeidstid er ufravikelig.
Ansatte i  “ledende” eller “særlig uavhengig” stilling er ikke omfattet av de aktuelle bestemmelsene i arbeidsmiljøloven kapittel 10. Reisetid vil derfor ikke anses som arbeidstid.

Travel time

If the employee is sent to a workplace outside the company but returns before the end of the working day, the travel time will normally be considered working time. For other travel time, the basic principle is that travel time is not working time. However, the situation is different if the employee is assigned duties that require them to be at the employer's disposal.

Specific assessment

It follows from case law that whether travel time is considered working time depends on a specific assessment. The first element of the assessment is whether the activity performed by the employee is a necessary prerequisite for performing the work in a diligent manner. The second element is a question of authority. Is the employee legally obliged to follow the employer's decisions during the journey? If the employee is free to pursue their own interests without interruption, the travel time is not considered working time. The obligation to wear a uniform, use the employer's vehicle, etc. supports the view that the employee is legally obliged to follow the employer's instructions. However, if the obligation is the same when traveling by private car or train, such obligations are not normally decisive.

The third element is that the employee performs work. In practice, few requirements are imposed on this element. In case law, travel to a location other than the regular place of work that the employee must attend in order to perform the expected work is considered to be the performance of work. For employees without a fixed place of work, necessary transportation to the places of work is considered an integral part of the performance of work and is considered to be the performance of work.

Remuneration

Although travel time is considered working time, the Working Environment Act does not regulate employees' entitlement to pay for working hours. Pay is agreed separately and travel time may be compensated in a different way than working hours, for example by time off in lieu.