New case law – Regarding whether certain travelling time constitute working hours

The Court of Justice of the European Union has ruled that the time spent travelling that employees are required to undertake collectively – at a time specified by the employer and using a vehicle belonging to the employer – in order to travel between a specific location specified by the employer and the location where the employees perform their work under their employment contract must be regarded as ‘working time’ under Article 2(1) of Directive 2003/88/EC. The Court found that such travel is directly linked to the status of the employees and is an integral part of their work. The employees do not decide on their own travel arrangements, but the employer determines the means of transport, the time, the place of departure and arrival, and the destination. The workers concerned do not have the possibility to freely dispose of their time and pursue their own interests during the journey, which means that they are at the disposal of their employer. Since the workers do not have a fixed place of work and travel is an unavoidable part of their work, they must be considered to be at their place of work even during their journeys.

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