Travelling time may be working time

The ECJ has today released a judgment setting out that time spent travelling to the first job of the day and the time spent travelling home again for workers with no fixed base is working time for the purposes of the Working Time Directive.  This decision follows the opinion given back in July by Advocate General Bot.
 
In the case of Federacion de Servicios Privados del sindicato Comisiones obreras (CC.OO.) v Tyco Integrated Security SL, Tyco Integrated Fire & Security Corporation Servicios  SA the employees concerned were 'field-based' and therefore the employer counted the time spent travelling between home and customers not as working time but as a rest period.  The ECJ found that such travel time was in fact working time for the purposes of the Working Time Directive because the workers were carrying out their activity or duties over the whole duration of those journeys, they were at the disposal of their employer during such journeys and given that travelling was an integral part of being such a worker, their working time could not be reduced to only such time as they were on the premises of the employer's customers.  They added that the fact that these workers started and finished their journeys at their homes stemmed from the decision of their employer to abolish the regional offices and therefore requiring the employees to bear the burden of their employer's choice would be contrary to the Directive's objective of protecting the safety and health of workers.
 
Click here to read the press release from the ECJ.