In principle, working time is the time during which the employee provides their labour to the employer. This is therefore the time from the start to the end of work without breaks, according to Section 2 German Hours of Work Act (Arbeitszeitgesetz; ArbZG) – whereby deviations may arise from individual and collective bargaining agreements as well as from works agreements. Incidentally, the journey time from home to work is not taken into consideration here.

When does working time start?

Working time does not necessarily start with the employee’s arrival on the premises. In general, it does not actually start until the employee starts their actual task at their workplace. While materials issue or workplace cleaning at the start and end of work are part of the working hours, washing or changing one’s clothes are only considered part of the working hours where this is determined by the works agreement or instructed by the company – such as for example in the case of protective clothing or uniform/particularly notable work wear.

What about journey times?

Whether or not journey times must be remunerated as working time depends first and foremost on whether the journey counts as a primary performance obligation of the employee under the contract of employment. For assembly workers this is always the case, for sales representatives always when the activity performed involves visiting customers – whether this involves providing services there or negotiating or concluding transactions for the employer. For the sales representative, in this case, the journey from home to the first customer and from the last customer back home also counts as working time. It may, however, also be reduced by the amount of time that the employee would otherwise have needed to travel to and from their office.

How are business trips remunerated?

Does this also apply to trips abroad?

Do I have to go on a business trip?