Travel time was not working time while working remotely

An employee who worked for a municipality was working remotely due to coronavirus. Sometimes, he had to physically attend meetings at his usual workplace in the middle of the day. After the meetings, he had to work from home during the rest of the day. This was because the municipality wanted to minimize the risk of infection. In connection with showing up at his usual place of work, the employee could have up to 60 minutes of travel time each way.

However, the municipality had opted for a solution where travel time during the lockdown only would be included in the paid working time if its employees had to spend more time on transportation than they otherwise normally would have.  

The question was whether the travel time from home to work when working remotely should be considered working time for which the employee should be paid or whether the municipality’s solution was reasonable.

A question about reasonability

The time the employee spent on transportation to and from work was not calculated as working time, even though he worked from home and had to transport himself to the workplace in the middle of the day.

According to the judge, working remotely gave the employee additional free time, as he did not spend time on transportation. Therefore, his total free time was not reduced because his working day began and ended at home. The only consequence for the employee was that he lost the additional free time he gained by only working remotely when he occasionally had to transport himself to the usual workplace.

It was not a burden that the employee had to transport himself to work in the middle of the day without it being calculated as working time. As a result, it was lawful that his travel time only counted as working time when it was longer than usual. The municipality’s solution was reasonable for the employee.

IUNO’s opinion

Even though the case concerns such an extraordinary circumstance as coronavirus, it shows how working remotely can give rise to questions about working time. These questions stay relevant as even without coronavirus, the home office remains a permanent workplace for many employees, which continues to raise questions about travel- and working time.

In these cases, the agreement between the company and the employee is decisive. If there is no agreement, it may be important what usually applies to the employees and whether the travel time results in an unreasonable burden on the employees. It also matters if the company expects the employee to work while travelling.

IUNO recommends that companies have clear rules on remote working, and rules on when travel time is calculated as working time, among other things. Further, companies should be aware that travel time in certain cases can constitute working time. We have previously written about the limits for when travel time becomes working time here.

[Industrial arbitration of 6 February 2023 in case FV 2022-45]