A first case law in the field? A German court recognized Wednesday, December 8 that any injury caused at home in teleworking should be taken into account by insurance for accidents at work.
The origin of this court decision comes from a man who accidentally broke his back when he fell down the stairs of his house. Teleworking, the latter had left his bed upstairs to join his office, located on the ground floor, before having a heavy fall in his spiral staircase.
Contacted by the unfortunate, his insurance initially refused to cover the disaster. While two minor courts failed to agree on the validity of this “home-work journey”, the Federal Social Court based in Cassel finally ruled.
He agreed with the complainant, stating in his report that “the first morning trip from bed to the home office was a guaranteed work route. The complainant suffered a work-related accident when he fell on his way to his home office in the morning ”.
Towards a new protection?
In its decision, which could resemble a case law, the body specializing in labor law paved the way for new protection for all teleworking employees, a phenomenon that has become more democratic with the Covid pandemic. 19.
“If the insured activity is carried out in the insured’s household or at another location, the insurance cover is provided to the same extent as when the activity is carried out on the premises of the company”, asserted the court in its verdict, relayed by The Guardian.
