From base to field, it’s all work: EU court expands working time rules

(CN) — Time on the road is time on the clock, according to a ruling Thursday from Europe’s top court compensating Spain's environmental crews for the hours they spend traveling in company trucks between their base and the field.

The case centered on biodiversity workers represented by STAS-IV, a union that took on VAERSA, a state-owned company managing Valencia’s protected nature reserves. Each morning, crews drive to a local base by 8 a.m., load up VAERSA trucks with tools and head to remote sites. When the day ends at 3 p.m., they return to the base before going home.

For years, Spanish courts disagreed on whether that daily drive should count as work. Some said no, arguing that workers weren’t at their posts or actively performing duties. Others said yes. With conflicting rulings piling up, the Valencia High Court asked the EU's Court of Justice in Luxembourg to decide.

The judges put the matter to rest. Citing EU employment law, they recalled that “working time means any period during which the worker is working, at the employer’s disposal and carrying out his activity or duties.” 

They added that the same rule “does not provide for any intermediate category between working time and rest periods, the two being mutually exclusive.” In short, if employees are under their employer’s direction, the clock is running.

That reasoning fit the VAERSA crews perfectly. With no fixed workplace and no freedom to use their travel time as they pleased, they rode together in company trucks on set routes and schedules, hauling the gear needed for their jobs. For the court, that daily routine wasn’t commuting — it was part of the work itself.

Elena Gramano, assistant professor of labor law at Bocconi University in Milan, Italy, said the judgment rightly treats the travel between the site and the base as working time. “During that time, the worker is still at the place of work — not in the strict sense, but in the sense of being outside their private space, still available to the employer and unable to do anything unrelated to their job,” she said.

The decision could reach far beyond Spanish conservationists, setting a clear rule for employers across Europe: When the job requires travel between a company base and the worksite, that time counts as work. No employer can clock out its crews just because they are on the move.

Ana Belén Muñoz Ruiz, a labor law professor at Carlos III University of Madrid, said the decision shows that “working time is a changing reality and requires new adjustments.” She said the ruling could broaden protection for mobile workers, such as firefighters or those who travel to provide on-site services for others, in line with the EU’s goal of safeguarding health and safety even on employer-set routes.

Both VAERSA and STAS-IV did not respond to requests for comment on the ruling.

The case now goes back to the Valencia High Court to decide how the ruling applies in practice, including whether workers should get back pay or new schedules.

The judgment from Luxembourg is final, leaving no room for appeal. Its effects now hinge on how Spain enforces it, but the ruling is likely to guide courts and employers across Europe as they rethink what counts as time on the job in an increasingly mobile workplace.

Courthouse News reporter Eunseo Hong is based in the Netherlands.