In Federación de Servicios Privados del sindicato Comisiones Obreras v Tyco Integrated Security SL and another (C-266/14), the Advocate General was asked to decide whether time spent by peripatetic workers travelling between their home and their customers' premises was “working time” under the Working Time Directive (the Directive).
Article 2 of the Directive defines "working time" as any period during which the worker is working, is at the employer's disposal and is carrying out his activity or duties, in accordance with national laws. It defines "rest period" as meaning any period which is not working time. The Directive has been implemented in the UK via the Working Time Regulations 1998 (the Regulations). Neither the Directive nor the Working Time Regulations 1998 (the Regulations) say anything about whether travel to and from a place of work or between places of work should be considered as working time. Non-statutory guidance suggests that "time spent travelling for workers who have to travel as part of their job, e.g. travelling sales reps or 24-hour plumbers" is included in working time, but that "normal travel to and from work" and "travelling outside of normal working hours" are not.
Tyco Integrated Security SL and Tyco Integrated Fire & Security Corporation Servicos SA (the companies) were security system installation and maintenance companies within the same group, each employing 75 technicians. The technicians were assigned a particular area of Spain. In 2011, the companies closed their provincial offices, and assigned all their employees to their central office in Madrid. Each technician had a company vehicle to travel from their homes to the day’s assignment, and then return home at the end of the day. The distances from their home to their assignments could be in excess of 100 km per day. The companies did not regard the first journey of the day (from home to the first assignment), or the last journey of the day (from the last assignment to home) as working time. They said this was rest time. Before the offices were closed, the companies calculated working time as starting when a technician arrived at the office to pick up the vehicle and assignment and finished when they arrived back at that office to drop the vehicle off.
The technicians brought a complaint that the companies were in breach of the Directive by not including their first and last journey of the day. In considering the Directive, the Advocate General gave his opinion that the first and last journeys of the day should be classified as working time. He set out the three criteria from the Directive that must be satisfied for time to meet the definition of "working time”, namely workers must be
At the workplace.
At the disposal of the employer.Carrying out their activity or duties.
Comment
The content of this page is a summary of the law in force at the date of publication and is not exhaustive, nor does it contain definitive advice. Specialist legal advice should be sought in relation to any queries that may arise.