German Court rules walking from bed to home office is commuting, comes under workplace accident insurance

In a landmark judgement, a court in Germany has ruled that walking from bed to home office is technically commuting and if a person falls while making this journey for the first time, it comes under workplace accident insurance.   

In the case, the court said the man, who slipped after walking a few metres from bed towards his home office, can claim workplace accident insurance.  

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In its decision, the federal social court, which undertakes social security issues, said, the man was working from home and was going to his desk one floor below the bedroom.  

The man, who has not been named, slipped while walking on the spiral staircase connecting the rooms and broke his back.  

The German federal court ruled, “The plaintiff suffered an accident at work when he fell on the way to his home office in the morning. If the insured activity is carried out in the household of the insured person or at another location, insurance cover is provided to the same extent as when the activity is carried out at the company premises.”  

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The court also said that it had found that “the first morning journey from bed to the home office [was] an insured work route”.   

Earlier, the employer’s insurance had refused to cover the claim while two lower courts had also disagreed on whether the travel was a commute or not.  

(With inputs from agencies)