Nigeria Announces What Workers Are Entitled to When Travelling More Than 16km for Work
- Nigeria's Labour Law sets out clear transport rights for workers who travel long distances to worksites
- Workers sent 16 kilometres or more from their usual workplace qualify for free transport or a cash allowance in its place
- The law also places specific obligations on employers who choose to provide vehicles or vessels for such travel
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Nigeria's Labour Law grants workers the right to free transport, or an equivalent cash allowance, whenever they are required to travel 16 kilometres or more from their regular place of work to another worksite.
The provision is contained in the country's Labour Act, which spells out the minimum obligations employers must meet when directing staff to report to locations beyond their normal place of assignment.
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What the law says on worker transport
Under the relevant section of the law, the 16-kilometre threshold is the key trigger for the entitlement. Once a worker is asked to travel that distance or further from their usual worksite, the employer is legally required to either arrange transportation at no cost to the worker or pay an allowance that covers the equivalent expense.
The law gives employers the flexibility to choose between both options, but it does not allow them to ignore the obligation altogether. Where an employer decides to provide a vehicle or vessel rather than pay an allowance, additional conditions apply.
Conditions for employer-provided vehicles
Any vehicle or vessel an employer provides for this purpose must meet three specific requirements under the law. It must be suitable for the journey, maintained in good sanitary condition, and must not be overcrowded.
These conditions place a direct duty of care on employers to ensure that the means of transport provided is safe and appropriate, not merely available. Workers packed into overloaded vehicles, or transported in unhygienic conditions, would fall outside what the law permits.
The provision reflects a broader set of protections built into Nigeria's Labour Act, which seeks to define the minimum standards workers can expect from their employers in areas ranging from wages to working conditions.
Nigerian worker needs N372,300 monthly to cover basic costs
Legit.ng earlier reported that a single Nigerian worker living in an urban centre needs at least N372,300 every month to meet basic living expenses, according to an analysis by The Guardian, a figure that is more than five times the current national minimum wage of N70,000.
Source: Legit.ng
