davieG Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 Time spent travelling to and from first and last appointments by workers without a fixed office should be regarded as working time, the European Court of Justice has ruled. This time has not previously been considered work by many employers. It means firms including those employing care workers, gas fitters and sales reps may be in breach of EU working time regulations. BBC legal correspondent Clive Coleman said it could have a "huge effect". "Thousands of employers could now find themselves in breach of working time regulations," he added. 'Falling below minimum wage'Chris Tutton, from the solicitors Irwin Mitchell, agreed the ruling would be "very significant" and could have an impact on pay. "People may now be working an additional 10 hours a week once you take into account their travel time, and that may mean employers are falling below the national minimum wage level when you look at the hourly rate that staff are paid," he said. The court says its judgment is about protecting the "health and safety" of workers as set out in the European Union's working time directive. The directive is designed to protect workers from exploitation by employers, and it lays down regulations on matters such as how long employees work, how many breaks they have, and how much holiday they are entitled to. 'Bear the burden'One of its main goals is to ensure that no employee in the EU is obliged to work more than an average of 48 hours a week. The ruling came about because of an ongoing legal case in Spain involving a company called Tyco, which installs security systems. The company shut its regional offices down in 2011, resulting in employees travelling varying distances before arriving at their first appointment. The court ruling said: "The fact that the workers begin and finish the journeys at their homes stems directly from the decision of their employer to abolish the regional offices and not from the desire of the workers themselves. "Requiring them to bear the burden of their employer's choice would be contrary to the objective of protecting the safety and health of workers pursued by the directive, which includes the necessity of guaranteeing workers a minimum rest period."
DennisNedry Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 Good! I know a few care workers who will benefit from this.
yorkie1999 Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 Should also include having a fixed place of work as this also increases the time spent away from home in order to do your job.
RowlattsFox Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 I don't have a fixed office, but I walk between venues. Often carrying a laptop and printer. There are positives of not having an office though, no management close by for a start and early finishes without anyone knowing.
Bettsj2 Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 Nice. I was always a little peaved at one job I had which covered a massive area. Some days i'd leave at 5am and not get back until 10pm but never see that time back.
Soar Fox Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 When I was doing shop fitting we'd be paid from the time we set off in the morning until when we were back at the office. The amount of times I'd be sat in traffic for hours on the M25 whilst being paid was great.
Frank to be Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 Nice idea but most people will be asked/expected to opt out as with the working time directive I would have thought
Steven Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 The ruling came about because of an ongoing legal case in Spain involving a company called Tyco, which installs security systems. A US company who will probably complain now.
Miss E Twisk Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 What about taxi drivers? :-D Sorry, I don't know where the 'I just did a funny' emoticon is kept.
Guest Sharpe's Fox Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 Best feeling is going for a long trip to the throne on the clocks. Nothing like getting paid to take a sh*t.
Nalis Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 When I was doing shop fitting we'd be paid from the time we set off in the morning until when we were back at the office. The amount of times I'd be sat in traffic for hours on the M25 whilst being paid was great. Nice one. Unfortunately one could see where that could have been open to abuse...
ScouseFox Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 Nice one. Unfortunately one could see where that could have been open to abuse... pretty sure most half decent businesses set trackers on vehicles so you can't just drive round the ring round an extra ten times to earn an extra twenty quid a day. decent if they don't though.
VLC86 Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 This rule would literally mean my boss either works 100 hours a week or I never see him.
BoyJones Posted 10 September 2015 Posted 10 September 2015 Won't matter if we vote "no" In the meantime, pending our possible leaving, how will the EU enforce this directive? They never think things through.
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