Berlin: A man who slipped while walking a few metres from his bed to his home office is allowed to claim on workplace accident insurance as he was technically commuting, a German court ruled.
The federal social court, which deals with social security issues, said in its verdict that the man was working from home and was on his way to his desk one floor below his bedroom.
The unnamed man slipped while walking on the spiral staircase connecting the rooms and broke his back.
According to the court, the employee usually started working in his home office “immediately without having breakfast beforehand”, but did not clarify why that was relevant to the case, reported The Guardian.
However, later the court said that statutory accident insurance was only afforded to the “first” journey to work. It also suggested that a trip on the way to get breakfast after already being in the home office could be rejected.
The employer’s insurance refused to cover the claim. Two lower courts disagreed on whether the short trip was a commute. On moving the higher federal social court, it found that “the first morning journey from bed to the home office [was] an insured work route”.
“The plaintiff suffered an accident at work when he fell on the way to his home office in the morning,” It ruled.
In several countries, companies have a duty of care to their staff, regardless of where they work.
“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,” the German federal court said.
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