EU Ruling Forces German Firms to Pay for Commutes to Job Sites — Millions Affected

A landmark decision from the European Court of Justice is rewriting the rules for how German tradespeople and service workers get paid for travel time. Starting with a ruling issued on October 9, 2025 (Case C-110/24), the court determined that group trips to rotating customer locations or construction sites can now count as full working hours.

The change hits hardest in sectors where employees gather at a central point before heading out together. Roughly 1.8 million workers in construction and building cleaning are directly affected, alongside 130,000 landscape gardeners and 450,000 staff in nursing field services. For these people, time spent riding in a company-provided van or truck — previously often treated as unpaid travel or rest time — now legally qualifies as work, provided the employer dictates the meeting point, vehicle, and departure time.

Three conditions trigger the new classification: the trip must be an integral part of the job, the employer controls the logistics, and workers cannot freely use that travel time for themselves. That last point is key — if an employee can nap, read, or run personal errands during the journey, it may still fall outside paid working hours.

With travel time now reclassified as working hours, employers need to reassess their risk management processes to ensure every part of the working day is properly documented. A free toolkit with 41 ready-to-use risk assessment templates and checklists can help you stay compliant. Download the free Risk Assessment Toolkit

Financial Shock for Businesses

The financial implications are steep. Industry experts calculate that a daily commute of around 80 minutes could generate extra compensation claims of up to €400 per month for affected employees. That figure could climb further when Germany’s planned minimum wage increase takes effect in January 2026, raising the statutory floor to €13.90 per hour.

Labour unions have welcomed the ruling as a victory for worker protection. Employer associations, however, warn of mounting cost pressures that could squeeze small and mid-sized firms already struggling with tight margins.

German Law’s Three-Way Split

Germany’s legal framework complicates matters. The country distinguishes between three separate definitions of working time: one for health and safety (capped at eight to ten hours daily under the Arbeitsschutzgesetz), one for pay, and one for co-determination rights. While the EuGH decision clarifies the health-protection side, the question of whether travel time must be compensated at the full hourly rate remains a separate issue.

The ruling puts pressure on the Bundesarbeitsgericht’s long-standing “burden theory,” which allowed employers to treat travel time as less valuable than actual work. Now, any journey where the employer sets specific instructions — route, vehicle, schedule — risks being reclassified as fully paid time. Companies that previously paid reduced rates for travel or ignored it altogether face legal exposure.

Digital Time Tracking on the Horizon

Adding to the regulatory shift, Germany’s Federal Ministry of Labour and Social Affairs has circulated a draft bill to amend the Arbeitszeitgesetz. The proposal would require employers to electronically record the start, end, and duration of daily work — on the same day it happens.

Transition periods vary by company size:

• General rule: One year after the law takes effect
• Firms with fewer than 250 employees: Two years
• Micro-enterprises with fewer than 50 employees: Five years

Only the smallest outfits — those with fewer than ten staff — are fully exempt, along with senior executives and companies covered by alternative collective agreements. Trust-based working time remains permissible, but employers must still document total hours worked. The bill also shortens the averaging period for the 48-hour weekly limit from six months to four months.

As regulatory demands around working time and documentation grow, having a complete set of health and safety resources at your fingertips is more important than ever. Over 37,000 UK businesses already use a free toolkit with risk assessments, checklists, and guides covering key regulations like the Health & Safety at Work Act. Get the free Health & Safety Toolkit

For German businesses, the combination of the EuGH ruling and the pending time-tracking law means a fundamental rethink of how they schedule, pay, and record employee hours — especially in industries where the van is the workplace.

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