Travel time = working time? What the German law says about business trips

The answer is not always clear-cut. German employment law distinguishes between working time for occupational health and safety purposes and the question of which periods must be paid.

When does travel time count as working time?

Whether a business trip counts as working time depends in particular on what the employee does while travelling.

Some typical examples:

• Driving yourself: If an employee is instructed to drive for work, the journey generally counts as working time under the Working Hours Act.
• Train or air travel: If employees have to carry out work tasks while travelling, such as editing presentations or answering emails, this generally counts as working time.
• Travelling as a passenger: If the employee is free to use their time as they wish and does not have to carry out work tasks, travel time is not automatically treated as working time under the usual interpretation of the Working Hours Act.
• Regular commute: The daily journey between home and the usual place of work does not normally count as working time.
  
  

Different rules may apply to employees without a fixed workplace or in special travel and assignment situations.

How long can a working day be?

Germany's Working Hours Act (ArbZG) sets clear limits.

Working time on a working day must generally not exceed eight hours. It can be extended to up to ten hours if the average remains at eight hours per working day over a period of six calendar months or 24 weeks.

Statutory rest breaks also apply:

• More than 6 up to 9 hours of work: at least a 30-minute break
• More than 9 hours of work: at least a 45-minute break
• After the end of work: generally at least 11 consecutive hours of rest
  
  

The statutory working-time limit generally applies to working days from Monday to Saturday. Collective agreements and statutory exceptions may allow deviations in individual cases.

What applies on long business trips?

For example, an employee works seven hours at a client's premises and then drives themselves back for four hours.

If the journey counts as working time, that makes a total of eleven hours of work. This may exceed the permitted daily maximum working time.

A long business trip therefore does not automatically justify exceeding the statutory working-time limits.

When planning trips, companies must therefore take account of driving time, work tasks while travelling, breaks and rest periods.

Does travel time have to be paid?

An important distinction must be made here: not all travel time that must be paid also counts as working time under the Working Hours Act.

The Federal Labour Court has ruled that necessary travel time during a temporary posting abroad may generally be subject to remuneration.

Whether, and to what extent, travel time is paid or compensated with time off depends on the specific circumstances, as well as the employment contract, collective agreement and, where applicable, works agreements.

What does this mean for companies?

Business trips should not be planned solely on the basis of cost and availability. Working-time requirements also play an important role.

For travel managers, realistic trip planning, clear internal policies and coordination with HR are particularly important.

Travel time and working time should be recorded clearly, and statutory maximum working hours and rest periods must be observed.

Conclusion

Travel time is not necessarily working time—but it may be relevant under working-time law and may also need to be paid.

The determining factors are the specific travel circumstances, the activities carried out while travelling and the applicable employment law provisions.

Note: This article relates to German employment law and is for general information purposes only; it does not constitute legal advice. Different provisions may apply in special cases, international assignments and under collective agreements.