EU Court Rules Employer-Organised Travel Counts as Paid Working Time – German Businesses Face Back-Pay Risk
Published on 07/18/2026 at 06:52 | Redaktion boerse-global.de
A European Court of Justice decision from October 2025 has widened the definition of working time to include daily journeys between a company’s base and changing work sites. The ruling (Case C-110/24) means that time spent on so-called “collection trips” – employees being picked up from a central location and driven to different assignments, then returned – now qualifies fully as paid working time. Industries without a fixed workplace, such as construction, skilled trades and cleaning, are most directly affected.
The practical consequence for employers is significant. If drivers, scaffolders or cleaners are not already compensated for those travel hours, their effective hourly pay could fall below Germany’s minimum wage. Since 1 January 2026 the statutory floor has stood at €13.90 an hour, raising the prospect of retroactive wage claims for workers whose unpaid commuting pushed their take-home below that threshold.
This latest judgment builds on a 2018 ECJ ruling that standby duty with a very short reaction time – specifically eight minutes – also counts as working time. The Federal Labour Court, Germany’s supreme labour-law bench, confirmed in mid-2016 that such on-call periods attract the minimum wage.
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Coalition Push for Weekly Hour Cap, Mandatory Digital Recording
While the ECJ tightens one definition, the German government is preparing to overhaul a different pillar of working-time law. Chancellor Friedrich Merz announced that a bill to reform the Working Hours Act would be presented in autumn 2026. Labour Minister Svenja Bas is drafting the legislation, which shifts the current daily maximum working hours to a weekly cap of 48 hours – aligning Germany with the EU Working Time Directive.
The reform is contentious. Industry associations such as the German Hotel and Restaurant Association (Dehoga) argue for more flexibility, while unions warn that a weekly limit could lead to longer individual shifts and higher daily strain. An initial draft released in June 2026 attracted broad criticism and has been reworked.
Tied to the reform is the obligation to systematically record working time, which the Federal Labour Court mandated in principle back in September 2022. The latest ministerial draft calls for mandatory electronic time tracking, with smaller businesses facing transition periods of two to five years before they must comply.
Digital Sick Notes on the Chopping Block; Partial Sick Leave Approved for 2028
Health policy is also shifting. Health Minister Petra Warken plans to ban sick notes issued without a face-to-face doctor’s appointment – a move that would effectively shut down pure online-questionnaire providers. Additionally, a coalition resolution requires employees to present a medical certificate from the very first day of illness, rather than after the third day as previously common.
A separate law passed in July 2026 introduces partial sick leave from 1 January 2028. From that date workers can be certified as unfit for duty at three levels – 25, 50 or 75 percent – depending on their actual capacity to work. Pay and sickness benefits will be adjusted proportionally.
EU Penalty Clock Ticking on Pay-Transparency Deadline
Germany has missed the transposition deadline for the EU Pay Transparency Directive, which expired on 7 June 2026. The European Commission has already called on Berlin to make good the shortfall. The directive strengthens employees’ rights to information about salary ranges within their organisation and aims to close the gender pay gap.
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Geneva Pilots Fixed-Salary Model for Uber Drivers
A different approach to platform work is emerging in neighbouring Switzerland. In mid-July 2026 the canton of Geneva authorised an Uber partner company to treat its drivers under the Temporary Staffing Act, giving them a fixed monthly wage instead of purely ride-based compensation. The model implements a 2025 Federal Supreme Court ruling requiring the ride-hailing platform to assume full employer obligations, including social-security contributions.
Outpatient and Emergency Services Now Treat Nearly Equal Numbers
An analysis by the Central Institute for Statutory Health Insurance reveals that doctor-led out-of-hours services and hospital emergency departments now handle almost identical patient volumes. In 2024 each treated around 6.5 million cases. While use of the out-of-hours service has declined slightly since 2015, emergency-room visits have steadily risen.
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