Travelling to Work Should Be Regarded as ‘Working Time’

The ruling by the European Court of Justice that time spent travelling to and from first and last appointments by workers without a fixed office should be regarded as working time has been widely reported. This means that firms, including those employing care workers, gas fitters and sales reps, may be in breach of EU working time regulations as this time has not previously been considered work by many employers. The court says its judgment is about protecting the “health and safety of workers as set out in the EU’s working time directive”. The cost and time implications of this ruling have yet to be fully assessed.