A man in Germany, who fell and hurt his spine while making his way from his bed to his workstation at home, has managed to claim compensation.
A German court labelled this as a ‘workplace accident’ and considered the movement from bed to workstation as a ‘commute’ to work.
The said man’s so called ‘commute’ from bed to workstation involved going down a spiral flight of stairs. In the process, the man slipped and injured his back in 2018.
The employer’s insurance had refused to consider this is a workplace accident and hence, rejected his insurance claim.
However, a federal appeals court for social security cases ruled that the journey or movement from bed to the home office first thing in the morning should be considered as an “insured work route.”
Therefore, the insurance cover should be provided in the same manner and extent as in the case of a workplace accident that takes place within the official premises of the workplace or office.
The said man begins working as soon as he wakes up, even without eating breakfast. By going down the stairs to his workstation, he was actually going to begin working for the day, for the first time. This, the court considered as a service that he was giving to the employer.
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