A ruling from the European Court of Justice last week will have a big impact for businesses, particularly those that have workers with no fixed place of work.
The case of Federacion de Servicios Privados del sindicato Comisiones Obreras v Tyco Integrated Security SL decided that time spent travelling to your first client or customer and from your last should be classed as "working time".
Although our Government in non-statutory guidance has long been of the opinion that time spent travelling during the course of a working day should be considered as "working time", it also states that commuting to and from work outside of an employee's normal working hours is not.
Implications for the workplace
Here we explain the possible implications of this ruling for employers and employees in the UK.
“The case specifically dealt with working time rather than pay and it is important to note that the ECJ expressly confirmed that it was for the employer to determine the remuneration for the time spent travelling between home and customers. As such, it appears that this ruling will not allow employees to claim pay for this travelling time where their contracts do not provide for it, however this is yet to be challenged within the UK Tribunal system.
Where this case shall definitely have an impact will be upon employers having to make sure they're not breaching the entitlement of an employee to a daily rest break of 11 consecutive hours. This is because travelling time being added may result in the employee not receiving their full 11 hours. Also, employers will have to be aware of the 48 hour limit on weekly working time, although an employee can opt out of this provision."
Advice for employers
Employers are best advised to ensure that an employee's schedule is put together in such a way that the travel to their first call and from their last is minimal. This will obviously increase productivity. Interestingly, employers will also now have to consider where an employee lives and may want to implement terms within their contracts to ensure employees do not move outside of a certain geographical area.
It is recommended that employers prepare a policy to address this change, especially to avoid exploitation by employees, for example those that try to claim that their journeys take longer than they actually do or make personal journeys on their way to or from home. Such changes could even result in employers introducing car trackers to avoid abuse.
The good news for employers is that these changes only apply to workers that do not have a fixed office base, leaving the majority of business owners being able to breathe a sigh of relief!
Get legal advice on working time
If you’re not sure about whether this applies to you, or if you want to discuss how this change will legally affect your business, then talk to Howells today.
As a team of expert solicitors, we are fully up to date with legal changes and are able to provide you with legal advice for your unique circumstances. Call us today on 0808 178 2773 to talk to an expert in employment law today.
