Most people are at work between the autumn and Christmas holidays. We notice this: the road is busy and there is a high risk of traffic jams. With a bit of bad luck you may be late for work. What might ease the pain a bit is that you probably won’t have to continue working in case of unexpected traffic jams.
If you can’t work and can’t do anything about it yourself, you don’t have to make up for lost time. “If someone drives from home to work in the normal way, i.e. does not leave too late or takes a detour without reason, then you cannot blame them if they are late,” explains employment law lawyer Jean-Louis van Os.
But whether you can do anything about it yourself is a gray area. “It very much depends on the situation. If you know that you will normally end up in traffic jams on the way to work, then it is also at your own expense. Then you may have to leave earlier or shift your working hours. If you unexpectedly get into traffic jams, for example due to an accident, it is a different story.”
Leaving earlier by default may not sound like a favorable solution either. Because what if the traffic jam isn’t too bad and you arrive at work too early? According to Van Os, an employer cannot say that you have to wait until you can start working. Your working day would then start earlier and therefore end earlier.
Common sense
Small side note: many collective labor agreements or employment contracts describe the rules regarding travel time and working hours. This may differ per professional group.
Because the rules in these types of cases depend very much on the situation, there is no consensus in the case law as to how things work. According to Van Os, these situations are partly about common sense.
Nowadays, employers often offer the opportunity to work (partly) from home, which can reduce traffic jams.