Is a home-care helper's travel and standby time working time? How to pay wages and set up rules

In short: A home-care helper's travel time counts as working time when the employer orders the travel for work and the free use of that time is not guaranteed to the worker. Standby time the worker is ordered to spend at the office or elsewhere is judged the same way. Time that counts as working time is subject to wages, and when converted to an hourly figure it must not fall below the minimum wage (Minimum Wage Act, Article 4). Whether a specific block of time counts as working time is ultimately decided by the Labour Standards Inspection Office or the courts.

"We don't pay for the travel between visits," "since they go straight there and straight home, we assumed the travel isn't working time" — in home-care workplaces, travel and standby time are often handled loosely, and unpaid-wage problems are pointed out later. This article, for the managers and owners of home-care offices and the HR staff of workplaces with a lot of direct commuting and inter-visit travel, sets out which time counts as working time and how to put it into the wage rules.

Does a home-care helper's travel time count as working time?

It can. The axis of the judgment is "whether the worker is under the employer's direction and supervision (whether the time is theirs to use freely)."

The Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare's circular "On securing the statutory working conditions of home-care workers" (27 August 2004, Kihatsu No. 0827001) states, on travel time, that when the employer orders the travel necessary to engage in work and the free use of that time is not guaranteed to the worker, it counts as working time. Travel from one user's home to the next, or from the office to a user's home, is a typical case.

Type of time	Does it count as working time (in principle)?
Travel from one user's home to the next	If ordered as necessary work travel and free use is not guaranteed, it is working time
Travel from the office to a user's home	Same. If the travel is ordered, it can be working time
Travel from home to the first user (direct) and from the last user to home (direct return)	Treated like ordinary commuting; in principle not working time
Time to prepare work reports, etc.	If obligated by the system or work rules and prepared under direction, it is working time

The circular itself flags that some employers do not treat travel or standby time as working time across the board. A practice of "never paying" does not hold if the reality is that the worker is under direction and supervision.

The concept of working time itself is in the Labour Standards Act, Article 32. For managing set hours and overtime, see also what you need to have workers do overtime (how far a 36 agreement goes).

How are standby time and cancellation time treated?

Standby time, too, is judged by "whether it is theirs to use freely."

The same circular states, on standby time, that when the employer orders the worker to stand by at the office or elsewhere to respond to sudden demand and the free use of that time is not guaranteed, it counts as working time. Time spent at the office waiting for the next instruction is a typical case. Conversely, if there is a gap of several hours before the next visit and the worker may go home and spend it freely, it can be treated as not working time.

How cancellation time is handled depends on the situation.

Situation	Approach
A cancellation occurs while the worker is still ordered to stand by at the office	If free use of the standby is not guaranteed, that standby time is working time
A user cancels suddenly and the worker is sent home with no other work ordered	If it is a leave due to a cause attributable to the employer, it is a candidate for leave allowance (Labour Standards Act, Article 26; 60% or more of average wage)
The schedule opens up and the worker may spend it freely	In principle not working time

Rather than processing cancellation time as "unpaid because they were not working," the key is to confirm whether standby was ordered and whether it is a leave due to the employer's circumstances. Whether a specific case counts as working time, and whether leave allowance is due, is the domain of the Labour Standards Inspection Office and the courts.

When you include travel time, does it fall below the minimum wage?

This is the point most easily overlooked in practice. You must confirm whether, once travel and standby time are included as working time, the hourly wage falls below the minimum wage.

A design that pays an hourly rate per service visit but pays nothing for travel time can fall below the minimum wage when recalculated over the total working time including travel. The Minimum Wage Act, Article 4 obligates the employer to pay wages at or above the minimum wage. Even when the wage for travel time is set separately, the amount obtained by dividing the total by the total working time must be at or above the minimum wage.

Simplified, the idea is as follows.

Item	Content
Numerator (wages)	Wages for service delivery + wages for travel/standby time + various allowances
Denominator (working time)	Service delivery time + travel/standby/report-preparation time that counts as working time
Judgment	The numerator ÷ the denominator must be at or above the region's minimum wage

Long-term care fees are set comprehensively by taking into account the average cost of the service (including labor costs). There is room for labor and management to design how the wage for travel time is set, but not falling below the minimum wage is the premise. Setting the wage unit for travel time separately from service delivery is itself possible, but whether that level is appropriate and any individual design require a judgment grounded in the actual situation and the latest primary sources, so we keep to general points here.

How do you set up the wage rules and the direct-commuting rules?

To avoid being told later that "you didn't pay," it helps to make clear, in writing, which time is treated as working time and how wages are calculated.

The order for setting this up is as follows.

1. Define the scope of working time: among travel, standby, and report-preparation time, state in writing which is treated as working time, in line with the circular's approach.
2. Write the wage calculation method in the wage rules: set the unit or formula for service delivery, travel, and standby, and confirm the total is at or above the minimum wage. If allowances are used, watch whether they can be counted.
3. Decide the direct-commuting rules: draw the line between work travel and commuting, and keep travel records (start, end, route).
4. Record working time: grasp start and end times objectively, including travel and standby. Without records, the office tends to be at a disadvantage if a dispute arises later.

For putting the work rules and wage rules themselves in order, see from how many people are work rules required (and what to write); for wage rules in the care field, see how to put the care-worker treatment-improvement addition into the wage rules. For offices with night or on-call duty, see also how night duty and on-call duty differ in the treatment of working time.

Note that wage rules, 36 agreements, and working-time management are the work of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi. Notifications on an office's designation standards and staffing are handled by a Gyoseishoshi (Yotsuba Gyoseishoshi Office is an entity independent of this office, engaged under a separate contract), and cases that have become disputes, such as claims for already-accrued unpaid wages, are the domain of an attorney.

Frequently asked questions

Q. Do we always have to pay wages for travel time between visits?
A. If that travel is work travel on the employer's instruction and free use of the time is not guaranteed, it counts as working time and is subject to wages. The circular (27 August 2004, Kihatsu No. 0827001) itself flags a practice of not treating travel time as working time across the board. The final decision on whether a specific case applies is made by the Labour Standards Inspection Office or the courts.

Q. With direct commuting, is travel from home to a user's house also working time?
A. Travel from home to the first user's house, and from the last user's house back home, is in principle treated like ordinary commuting and generally not working time. On the other hand, travel between users' homes, or from the office to a user's home when ordered, can count as working time. Confirmation grounded in the actual situation is needed.

Q. What about wages for time cancelled at a user's convenience?
A. If standby was still ordered at the office, that standby time can count as working time. If the worker is sent home with no other work ordered and it can be called a leave due to a cause attributable to the employer, it becomes a candidate for leave allowance (Labour Standards Act, Article 26; 60% or more of average wage). Because the conclusion changes with the situation, please confirm case by case.

Q. If we pay an hourly rate only for service delivery, is the minimum wage no problem?
A. Not necessarily. When travel and standby time count as working time, the total wage recalculated over the total working time including that time must be at or above the minimum wage (Minimum Wage Act, Article 4). Even when travel is set separately, confirm that the minimum wage is met on a total basis.

Sources

• Labour Standards Act, Article 32 (working hours). It provides that, in principle, an employer must not have a worker work more than 8 hours a day or 40 hours a week (e-Gov Law Search, Labour Standards Act, Act No. 49 of 1947; accessed 28 August 2026).
• "On securing the statutory working conditions of home-care workers" (27 August 2004, Kihatsu No. 0827001). On travel time, "when the employer orders the travel necessary to engage in work and the free use of that time is not guaranteed to the worker, it counts as working time"; on standby time, "when the employer orders the worker to stand by at the office or elsewhere to respond to sudden demand and the free use of that time is not guaranteed, it counts as working time"; on report-preparation time, "when it is obligated for work and prepared under the employer's direction and supervision at the office or a user's home, it counts as working time" (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare; accessed 28 August 2026).
• Minimum Wage Act, Article 4 (effect of the minimum wage). The employer must pay a worker to whom the minimum wage applies wages at or above the minimum wage. Even when the wage for travel is set separately, the amount obtained by dividing the total by the total working time must be at or above the minimum wage (e-Gov Law Search, Minimum Wage Act, Act No. 137 of 1959; accessed 28 August 2026).
• Labour Standards Act, Article 26 (leave allowance). For a leave due to a cause attributable to the employer, it obligates the payment of an allowance of 60/100 or more of the average wage. Referred to in considering the treatment of cancellation time (e-Gov Law Search, Labour Standards Act, Act No. 49 of 1947; accessed 28 August 2026).
• Whether a specific block of time counts as working time, and whether leave allowance is due, is decided by the Labour Standards Inspection Office and the courts in light of the actual situation. The design of the wage unit for travel time and the appropriateness of a labor-management agreement require confirmation grounded in the latest primary sources and individual circumstances.

This article does not decide whom to consult. Putting the work rules and wage rules in order, working-time management, and concluding a 36 agreement are the work of a Shakai Hoken Roumushi. Notifications on an office's designation standards and staffing are the domain of a Gyoseishoshi, and claims for unpaid wages and other disputes are the domain of an attorney. For fees when consulting 四葉社会保険労務士事務所, see the fee schedule; for frequently asked questions, see the FAQ.

This article is general information. Whether an individual block of time counts as working time is decided by the Labour Standards Inspection Office or the courts. Whether the system applies and individual procedures are handled by a qualified professional after a consultation, in light of the latest primary sources (the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, etc.) and individual circumstances. Written by Joji Uramatsu (Shakai Hoken Roumushi, Gyoseishoshi, Registered Real Estate Transaction Specialist).