What Is Reasonable Overtime When You Travel for Work?

Travelling for work often blurs the line between personal and professional time. While it can be exciting to meet clients, attend conferences, or visit different sites, one of the trickiest questions employees face is: what counts as reasonable overtime when you’re on the road?

The answer isn’t always straightforward, but understanding your rights and what’s considered fair can help protect your time, wellbeing, and value as an employee.

Travel Time vs. Work Time

Not all travel is treated equally. For most employees:

• During normal work hours: Travel is generally counted as paid work time.

• Outside work hours: If travel is directly linked to job duties (like flying to another city for a meeting), it may still count as work time, depending on your contract or local employment laws.

Simply put: if the travel is part of your job requirement, it shouldn’t come at your personal expense.

What’s Considered “Reasonable” Overtime

Overtime expectations should be clearly outlined in your contract or enterprise agreement. In general, “reasonable overtime” considers:

• Health and safety risks – long hours after travel can create fatigue and safety issues.

• Impact on personal life – frequent after-hours travel shouldn’t consistently disrupt rest or family time.

• Industry norms – some industries accept more travel-related overtime, but it should still be balanced.

• Compensation – whether through overtime pay, time-in-lieu, or travel allowances.

The Risk of Burnout

Unpaid or excessive travel overtime can erode work-life balance. Employees who spend hours in airports, long commutes to client sites, or late-night travel often carry stress into the next workday. Over time, this leads to disengagement and burnout.

Best Practices for Employers

Employers who want to retain talent and maintain fairness should:

• Compensate fairly for after-hours travel.

• Provide time-in-lieu where overtime pay isn’t offered.

• Set clear policies around what’s considered paid travel.

• Ensure employees aren’t penalised for declining unreasonable overtime.

Reasonable overtime during work travel should balance the needs of the business with the wellbeing of employees. If travel is essential to your role, it should be fairly recognised, compensated, and managed.

At the end of the day, valuing employee time—whether at the desk or on the road—creates loyalty, productivity, and a sustainable workplace.