MADRID (Web Desk) – The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that time required to travel to and from work at the beginning and end of everyday should also be counted as working time under the law.
The court said workers without any fixed working hours are not allowed to charge for the time they spend in travelling to their workplace but they should start charging for the time onward.
The ruling means that companies employing such workers as electricians, gas fitters, care workers and sales reps could be in breach of EU working time regulations, if they chose to abandon a regional office, for example.
The ruling revolves around a legal case in Spain involving Tyco, the security systems company.
The ruling said: “The fact that the workers begin and finish the journeys at their homes stems directly from the decision of their employer to abolish the regional offices and not from the desire of the workers themselves.
“Requiring them to bear the burden of their employer’s choice would be contrary to the objective of protecting the safety and health of workers pursued by the directive, which includes the necessity of guaranteeing workers a minimum rest period.”
