Time spent on travelling to work is work, rules European court

Europe's highest court, European Court of Justice (ECJ) has said that time spent on travelling to and from work each day should be considered as working time under law.

The court said that workers who do not have a fixed office should be able to charge for the amount of time they spend on travelling to and from work, however, no such law exists currently. 

The ruling came in light after a legal case filed in Spain which involved the security systems company, Tyco. 

ECJ's 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."The court said it was protecting the "health and safety" of workers according to the European Union's Working Time Directive.