ARTICLE · 27 SEPTEMBER 2015

Should Employees' Travel Time Be Counted As Working Time

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The Court of Justice of the European Union (the "CJEU") has decided that in certain cases, it should. In the case of Federacion de Servicios Privados del sindicato Comisiones Obreras v Tyco Integrated Security SL and another released in recent days, the CJEU ruled that, in the case of an employee with no fixed or habitual place of work, travel time between the employee's home and the first and last customer each day should be counted as "working time" for the purposes of the European Union's Wo

IrelandEmployment and HR

Matheson Employment, Pensions And Benefits Practice Group

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The Court of Justice of the European Union (the "CJEU") has decided that in certain cases, it should. In the case of Federacion de Servicios Privados del sindicato Comisiones Obreras v Tyco Integrated Security SL and another released in recent days, the CJEU ruled that, in the case of an employee with no fixed or habitual place of work, travel time between the employee's home and the first and last customer each day should be counted as "working time" for the purposes of the European Union's Working Time Directive (the "Directive").

As a result of this decision, employers of a certain category of worker could be exposed to increased employment costs or the risk of claims for alleged breaches of working time legislation in relation to maximum weekly working hours, and holidays, by reference to the hours worked by an employee.

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