There has recently been an interesting case in the Supreme Court of Spain regarding time spent by workers travelling. In this particular case it related to in-home carers and them travelling between their home and their clients; when they started and when they finished.
It was a Class (Group) Action filed initially in the Castile and Leon Courts (actually the High Courts in this case not the local Courts) asking them to rule that this time (first and last journeys) was working time.
Unsurprisingly perhaps the High Court ruled against the legal action, which affected around 6,000 carers, but their union appealed this to the Supreme Court, the highest Court in Spain. Their reason for the appeal was because of EU regulations on this topic.
However the Supreme Court upheld the previous decision ruling that the European Regulations referred to did not apply to this case, as the case law relating to Tyco, a Spanish Security firm who closed their offices in 2011, and thus their workers didn’t have a fixed base, was completely different.
In the Tyco case it was found that their journeys to and from the first and last clients of the day were working time, but there were different circumstances.
This is a subject that is still in a bit of a state of flux and the Labour Courts have made different decisions depending on the different facts of the case.
Also as different types of work accord to different “convenios” or agreements, it is never easily clear to know whether employees should be paid for their journeys or not for their initial clients and last clients. Any employers in doubt should refer to the person who handles their labour matters, generally an asesor.
Interestingly in Tyco the ruling only covered that the the journeys were found to be working time, but it did not cover how they should be compensated, and money for this. Many employers depend on specific wording of contracts of employment and the fall back is national law on the matter.
If you have any employer issues and need legal assistance or accountancy or laboral issues please contact and we will direct you towards a lawyer or an accountant for advice.