Policeman awarded additional leave
An interesting case in Germany this month has seen 44 year old Policeman, Martin Schauder awarded an additional week of annual leave as compensation for the time taken to put on his work uniform.
It has been reported to have taken him 15 minutes at each end of the day to put on and take off his uniform which historically, he had been expected to do in his own time. This totalled a staggering 45 to 50 hours of his time each year. Despite his requests to his employers to be paid or given time off in lieu, Schauder’s bosses are reported to have refused this, arguing that it was part of every person’s daily requirement to get dressed for work although they did appear to recognise the time it took Schauder to arm himself.
However, Schauder has taken his case to the German Administrative Court who has ruled in his favour, awarding him a week's additional leave as compensation. It is now suggested that Schauder is also pursuing back pay for his 28 year long career, amounting to 6 months additional leave.
We have taken this opportunity to speak with Hayley Marshall, one of the team of Employment Law Advisers at Newcastle-under-Lyme based mhl Support over the implications of this latest decision on UK employers. Hayley explained that “I think the first point to stress is that this case is a German case, pursued under German law. At present, there is nothing specific in UK law which requires an employee to be paid for the time it takes to get ready for work, with any such entitlement to the contrary coming largely from the contractual terms.”
However, Hayley went on to explain that “there may be some legislative implications in respect of such time insofar as the Working Time Regulations 1998 and the National Minimum Wage Provisions dictate. The working time legislation specifies periods of rest breaks and maximum working time, and there is certainly an argument in view of this latest case that if staff members are required to be ready for work in advance of their scheduled start time, and that they can only get ready in part on the work premises, such periods may be claimed as counting towards working time. Similarly, if staff members are only paid the national minimum wage, when working out their average hourly rate of pay, account may be taken of time spent at the premises getting ready for work where this has similarly been specified as a requirement by the employer.”
This latest case has sparked much debate and concern amongst employers, as it is not yet clear where the parameters will lie. One source is reported to have explored if this principle could be extended to the receptionist who puts on her lippy to make herself look well presented to customers, Hayley explained that “this is unlikely to be covered as I think it takes the principle just a step too far, but absurd as it seems, it shouldn’t be totally ruled out.”
Asked what employers should do, Hayley urged employers to seek advice from a specialist source in Employment Law and review their current practices.
As one of the UK’s premier provider’s of compliance management solutions, mhl has a team of specialist advisers ready to answer your queries on this latest News Release. If you are an existing client, please call one of the team today on 08453 100 999 quoting your PCN number. If however you are not yet a client of mhl, but are interested in learning more about the case or our services please call Katy Vaughan today on 08453 100 600.
This News Release is intended to provide a general overview and discussion of the subject matter. It is not however, intended to give advice or to act as a substitute to taking legal advice from our Support Line in any specific situation. Mhl accepts no liability or responsibility for the information contained within this news release. If you would like specific advice about this subject matter, please contact one of the Employment Law Team today on 08453 100 999.
