A court in Germany decided that the injury of a person who works from home while going from bed to a computer to start working, technically counts as going to work, and ruled that the accident experienced during this time was also a work accident.
In the court decision, it was stated that the accident was accepted as a work accident because it happened during the commute to work, and therefore, it is not considered a work accident if the person falls and gets injured while walking around the house to take a break or eat.
The worker requested work accident insurance upon experiencing a work accident, but the employer refused to cover this demand and expenses. However, the Federal Social Court has stated that the first commute from bed to desk is a covered work route. On top of that, the employee will be able to request work accident insurance.
With the rapid increase in the Corona virus all over the world, the remote working system is becoming widespread in the works suitable for this system, but it also brings some legal uncertainties and problems. There is a legal regulation on remote working in the Labour Act No. 4857. According to Article 14 of the Law, Remote working; It is a business relationship established in writing, based on the principle that the employee performs the act of working within the scope of the work organization created by the employer at home or outside the workplace with technological communication tools. Discussions arise as to whether the home of the worker working from home can be considered as a workplace and whether any accident that occurs at home can be considered as a work accident.
According to item g of the 3rd article of the Occupational Health and Safety Law No. 6331, an occupational accident is defined as “an event that occurs in the workplace or due to the conduct of the work, causing death or inflicting mental or physical disability on bodily integrity”. Even if it is
outside the workplace, accidents that occur due to the conduct of the work are also considered as workplace accidents. In the remote working system, if the accident suffered by the people working at home is not related to the work or if there is no causal link, it will not be considered as a work accident. It is expected that an accident that occurs only because of work and the conduct of business from home will be considered as a work accident.
In order to prevent legal uncertainties that may arise at this point, it would be appropriate for employers to inform employees about possible occupational health and safety and to provide necessary training to employees. In addition, information on the nature and execution of the work should be arranged in the annex of the employment contract. For example, it may be helpful to identify or create a specific workspace for the execution of the job. In this case, an accident that occurs in the working environment and working hours determined by the contract between the parties can be qualified as a work accident unless the causal link is cut and the opposite is proven.