I can only speak for the UK here, but commuting to work is your expense, as when you apply for a job, you know where the offices are, if it's going to cost you

I can only speak for the UK here, but commuting to work is your expense, as when you apply for a job, you know where the offices are, if it's going to cost you significant time/money to commute, you need to make a decision on whether the salary is enough before accepting the job. If you're required to drive anywhere as part of your work, mileage is paid by the company. Our sales force have a geographic area they cover, if they live outside it, mileage to get there isn't covered by the company, but once inside their area it is. I'm not sure if it's the law, but I've not heard of anywhere that doesn't do very similar to this. Same with phones, or additional travel (i.e. to a different work site), they're either paid in advance by the company, or expensed back to them by the employee.