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kenne4am

- 4 months ago

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Is it wrong to ask for commuting compensation?

I currently travel to work to make a measly $9.25 per hour. Pretty well above min. wage, I understand, but is it that crazy to ask for compensation for commuting when I travel 30 miles each way, 3x per week, for 10 hours per week?? I feel as though I am a great employee, despite not being F/T, and it just doesn't seem fair to lose out on an hour of time each week, yet when I thought I was allowed to put my mileage for the commute on the mileage form, I was met with some words about how "no employer compensates for commute time." Well-- shouldn't they?

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nope. very few jobs offer commute time, even if they are f/t. and that's something one has to think about when accepting any job. how far does one have to travel and how much its gonna cost to get wherever one is going to get. and does the salary outweigh the expense?
The only time I was ever offered commute time by an employer was when I was on call. In which case my "time" began when I left the house and ended an hour after I completed whatever task I had to complete. or I was paid some kind of minimum number of hours for being on call. otherwise it was my job to show up for work. at my own expense. the only other times that I recall recieving travel time was if I had to travel /for the company/ to another location, but not to mine.
no one pays you for just coming to work

I have a 45 minute commute every day, and I travel a toll route which brings my expenses up significantly. These, however, are my choices. I could avoid the toll route and add half an hour to my commute each way, or I could move closer to where I work. Since they are my choices, why on earth should my employer pay for them?

Move closer to work. If you don't like the commute, change where you work or change where you live. It isn't your employer's responsibility to pay for your choices.

Ha ha. You're very young aren't you. :-)

30 miles isn't a commute.

That's a trip down the street.

No, they shouldn't.

It's take it or leave it situation. When you accept that job offer, you know that the office will be 30 miles away.

I've been lucky because as a federal employee using mass transit to commute to and from work, the government paid my commuting expenses until this month.

Now the benefit has been reduced, but still covers all but about six-eight days' of commuting each month (depending on the weather).

Oh and what they're paying you for mileage as it is is the going rate. Also if you use your own personal vehicle for work (while you're actually on the clock, not going to work or coming home from work) you can write part of the expense of your car (payment, insurance, maintenance) off your income tax.

It's not your employer's fault that you live 30 miles away. move closer or stop bitching, whatever works.

When applying talking salary (at the next job -- don't quit this one without having something else lined up -- esp in this economy) Calculate distance, and add that to the figure you're asking for, as part of your hourly or salary, and divide out.

I had a one-hour commute each way 5x a week for five years. I also had a two-hour commute for about a six-month period, once. Not fun. I knew what I was signing up for when I applied for the job, though. My decision. My employer could have hired any number of people within a closer driving range, so I really don't see how my choosing to work someplace far from home should become my employer's responsibility.

yes. If I go to Chicago to help a friend, even tho I may not get paid for my TIME, I always ask (even if i know he doesn't have it) for my transportation $$ back)

It's not your employer's fault that you live 30 miles away. I know some companies have incentives for car pooling, if that's an option maybe bring that up. No employer is going to pay you for the time it takes you to get to or from work.

@kenne4am

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SoulPancake

kenne4am

Is it wrong to ask for commuting compensation?

melb2

wheatabix

wheatabix

Move closer to work. If you don't like the commute, change where you work or change where you live. It isn't your employer's responsibility to pay for your choices.

bwheeler

Ha ha. You're very young aren't you. :-)

Kirbonicus

30 miles isn't a commute.

That's a trip down the street.

luv_you

No, they shouldn't.

It's take it or leave it situation. When you accept that job offer, you know that the office will be 30 miles away.

BruceDLimber

I've been lucky because as a federal employee using mass transit to commute to and from work, the government paid my commuting expenses until this month.

Now the benefit has been reduced, but still covers all but about six-eight days' of commuting each month (depending on the weather).

Mistral

stuntman

It's not your employer's fault that you live 30 miles away. move closer or stop bitching, whatever works.

Jear77

When applying talking salary (at the next job -- don't quit this one without having something else lined up -- esp in this economy) Calculate distance, and add that to the figure you're asking for, as part of your hourly or salary, and divide out.

ransomed

Jear77

yes. If I go to Chicago to help a friend, even tho I may not get paid for my TIME, I always ask (even if i know he doesn't have it) for my transportation $$ back)

Mistral

It's not your employer's fault that you live 30 miles away. I know some companies have incentives for car pooling, if that's an option maybe bring that up. No employer is going to pay you for the time it takes you to get to or from work.

Is it wrong to ask for commuting compensation?

Move closer to work. If you don't like the commute, change where you work or change where you live. It isn't your employer's responsibility to pay for your choices.

Ha ha. You're very young aren't you. :-)

30 miles isn't a commute.That's a trip down the street.

No, they shouldn't.It's take it or leave it situation. When you accept that job offer, you know that the office will be 30 miles away.

I've been lucky because as a federal employee using mass transit to commute to and from work, the government paid my commuting expenses until this month.Now the benefit has been reduced, but still covers all but about six-eight days' of commuting each month (depending on the weather).

It's not your employer's fault that you live 30 miles away. move closer or stop bitching, whatever works.

When applying talking salary (at the next job -- don't quit this one without having something else lined up -- esp in this economy) Calculate distance, and add that to the figure you're asking for, as part of your hourly or salary, and divide out.

yes. If I go to Chicago to help a friend, even tho I may not get paid for my TIME, I always ask (even if i know he doesn't have it) for my transportation $$ back)

It's not your employer's fault that you live 30 miles away. I know some companies have incentives for car pooling, if that's an option maybe bring that up. No employer is going to pay you for the time it takes you to get to or from work.

What's Next?

30 miles isn't a commute.

That's a trip down the street.

No, they shouldn't.

It's take it or leave it situation. When you accept that job offer, you know that the office will be 30 miles away.

I've been lucky because as a federal employee using mass transit to commute to and from work, the government paid my commuting expenses until this month.

Now the benefit has been reduced, but still covers all but about six-eight days' of commuting each month (depending on the weather).