EU Court Ruling Means Travel Time to Changing Work Sites Must Be Paid
Published on 07/27/2026 at 09:03 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
A landmark decision from the European Court of Justice (ECJ) is set to reshape pay structures for millions of mobile workers across Germany. The ruling, issued on October 9, 2025, under case number C-110/24, establishes that journeys to varying work locations in a company vehicle count as working time when the employer dictates the conditions of the trip.
Employer Control Is the Key Factor
The central question in the case revolved around who sets the parameters of the commute. According to the ECJ, if an employer specifies the meeting point, the route, and the vehicle to be used, employees are effectively under the company's authority during the journey. They cannot freely dispose of their time, which means the travel meets the European legal definition of working hours.
The ruling has immediate practical consequences for a substantial portion of Germany's workforce. Roughly 1.8 million people employed in the construction and building-cleaning trades are directly affected. An additional 130,000 landscape gardeners and 450,000 care workers who travel to patients or clients on a daily basis also fall under the new interpretation.
Pay Implications and Minimum Wage Floor
Classifying travel time as working hours will often translate into higher wages. Simple calculations illustrate the financial impact. For a worker who spends 80 minutes each day commuting between sites, the additional pay at Germany's minimum wage — which rose to €13.90 per hour in January 2026 — amounts to up to €400 per month.
Legal experts caution that the ruling does not automatically require employers to pay the same rate as for the core job. However, the statutory minimum wage of €13.90 per hour sets an absolute floor that cannot be undercut for these periods. Companies must now review whether their existing flat-rate payments or unpaid travel arrangements comply with the law.
German Legal Doctrine Under Pressure
The ECJ's decision directly challenges the approach long taken by Germany's Federal Labour Court (BAG). That court had traditionally relied on what is known as the "burden theory," which held that only activities representing a genuine burden on the employee should be treated as paid working time. The European judges have shifted the focus to whether the worker is at the employer's disposal, placing the national doctrine in a difficult position.
The ruling also highlights the complexity of German labour law, which operates with three distinct definitions of working time. One concept governs occupational safety and caps the daily maximum at eight hours. A second determines how work is compensated. A third regulates the co-determination rights of works councils.
What Companies Must Do Now
Businesses face an urgent need to overhaul their time-management systems. Experts recommend a swift review of existing contracts and deployment schedules to reduce the risk of back-pay claims. Because travel is now more clearly defined as working time, employers must also recalculate rest periods and the maximum daily working hours. Any company that continues to mandate group rides with fixed routes and vehicles will have no choice but to document and pay for that time precisely.
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