Does a business trip be completely below working hours or must the arrival and departure not be added? There is no answer to this question. The instructions of the employer must be observed to clarify.
First of all, a distinction must be made between the service and business trip. Local law is an employment trip an activity that is carried out on behalf of the employer outside the actual workplace, whereby a certain spatial distance must be overcome. If the employee only drives for a multi -hour customer appointment in the same district, the necessary distance is not available. Accordingly, this case is not a business trip, but a service. A service does not differ from the usual work performance and always falls below working hours.
The instructions of the employer are relevant
Whether the arrival and departure of a business trip is part of working hours depends on the circumstances in individual cases. Basically, the time that the employee can use for private interests is defined as a rest period. For example, if the employer has not given the traveler instructions for the trip, he can freely decide on the activities and the means of transportation and there is the possibility to relax. If an employee voluntarily decides to drive the car, the journey is considered a rest period. However, if it is instructed to use a car, it is part of working hours. However, this only affects the driver. The passengers still have the opportunity to recover. A journey on public transport only falls under working hours if the employee is to use the trip to process business tasks. An exception are employees who have to travel constantly due to their usual work and who cannot be assigned a permanent workplace. This includes sales representatives and professional drivers.
Editor finance.net