That sounds like it should be an easy question to answer, but as
many of our readers know from experience, that's not always the
case.
It is a question that is relevant to compliance not only with
the Working Time Regulations 1998 but with National Minimum Wage
(NMW) legislation. The Advocate General in Federacion de
Servicios Privados v Tyco Integrated Security has given his
opinion in a case before the European Court of Justice (ECJ). In
summary, his decision is that in the case of peripatetic workers,
the time spent travelling from their home to their first customer,
and from their last customer back to their home, constitutes
"working time" for the purposes of the Working Time
Directive. Peripatetic workers are individuals who are not assigned
to a fixed or habitual place of work and for whom travelling is a
key element of their role.
