back to article Bloke breaking his back on 'commute' from bed to desk deemed a workplace accident

A German employer has been left on the hook after a worker slipped and broke his back on the "commute" from his bed to the home office. It's not something companies coping with the ongoing work-from-home wave will want to hear, but the bloke's fall on his spiral staircase was ruled a "workplace accident" by Germany's federal …

  1. The Axe

    Falling out of bed

    So if you fall out of bed after a bad nightmare you can claim on your employer's insurance?

    1. Version 1.0 Silver badge

      Re: Falling out of bed

      "So if you fall out of bed after a bad nightmare you can claim on your employer's insurance?"

      NO If your bad nightmare was being chased and bitten by your dog.

      YES If you woke up after dreaming that you had just typed rm -r.

      1. John Brown (no body) Silver badge
        Holmes

        Re: Falling out of bed

        Now prove it :-)

      2. Hubert Cumberdale Silver badge

        Re: Falling out of bed

        rm -rf, surely?

        1. MrDamage
          Trollface

          Re: Falling out of bed

          Don't call me Shirley. That's workplace bullying.

    2. Ken Moorhouse Silver badge

      Re: Falling out of bed

      Insurance policies that I've looked at have a condition in them which says something like: Is this risk covered by other insurance? With the implication to go claim on that insurance instead.

      1. W.S.Gosset Silver badge

        Re: Falling out of bed

        I suspect that this was a case of the bloke's Personal insurance company novating him and suing the Work insurance company, so that they shift the cost from themselves to the other insurer. Chap could well have had no say in the matter, just be looking on bemusedly from his hospital bed and full body cast.

        The depth of pocket necessary to run thru 3 levels of Court is suggestive, adds weight to the theory.

        1. Stork

          Re: Falling out of bed

          Costs could also have been covered by a union or professional society. Not sure about Germany, but I could imagine my old danish outfit (Ida.dk) taking up a case like that.

          1. gnasher729 Silver badge

            Re: Falling out of bed

            Every workplace in Germany would have that kind of insurance for their employees, or one of two things will happen: 1. They get shut down. 2. If an accident happens before they are shut down, the company pays, and if they don't have the money, the owners pay out of their private pocket. As a result, see the first line.

        2. trindflo Silver badge
          Thumb Up

          +1 Novation

          Novation: the process by which the megacorporations we've sold our souls to negotiate between themselves over who has to muck out our stalls this week. (my definition)

          A real definition: https://www.thefreedictionary.com/novate

          I had no idea a word had been coined for such a concept. Thanks!

          1. Stuart Castle Silver badge

            Re: +1 Novation

            Cool, and there was me thinking Novation was just a make of Midi controller.. https://novationmusic.com/en/keys/launchkey

        3. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

          Re: Falling out of bed

          Do you insure yourself against falling down your own stairs? I suppose you might insure for loss of earnings from illness, injury, death, which would include that.

          1. W.S.Gosset Silver badge

            Re: Falling out of bed

            I can think of a few insurance policy types which could include it, from loss-of-earnings to home-insurance, but I'd think the most likely would be simple health insurance (which in the UK is nationalised but still there and still called (national) insurance so could well have administrators looking to offload treatment costs where possible). He's injured, so he'd claim on that.

      2. John Riddoch

        Re: Falling out of bed

        Normally, if two insurance policies cover an incident, both pay out a portion of the payout. I guess if one policy says "no payout if another policy covers the incident", it wouldn't apply and the other insurance pays out. What happens if both say the same thing would be interesting as you could argue neither apply...

        1. Adrian 4

          Re: Falling out of bed

          You could also argue that if cover does not apply because of such a clause, then it is not another cover that applies. So he could be covered by both.

          A race condition.

          1. Anonymous Coward Silver badge
            Holmes

            Re: Falling out of bed

            > A race condition.

            But insurance policies also state that they don't cover racing.

    3. gnasher729 Silver badge

      Re: Falling out of bed

      Did you read the article? Falling out of bed because of a nightmare is not commute to work, therefore it is not covered.

      This was in a German court, with German laws and a German judge, and they act very logically. First, you are insured for any accident on your commute directly from home to work and your commute back. That has been the case for over 100 years, and insurance companies pay for thousands of those every year. Second, the judge said, quite correctly, that if you get out of bed and go straight to your works computer, that is a commute and therefore any accidents are covered by insurance.

  2. Martin Summers

    Will it now be possible that German companies will want to carry out an in person risk assessment of someone's home? Otherwise how are they going to stem these claims?

    1. Phones Sheridan Silver badge

      Insurance companies will simply hike the fees at renewal for WFH cover to the point employers will insist you come into the office, where you are responsible for your commute and insurance doesn't occur until you cross the building threshold.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Statistically speaking, commute accident claims will have dropped over the WFH period, so this is unlikely to impact the insurance companies bottom line.

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Bloke breaking his back on 'commute' from bed to desk deemed a workplace accident

          this is unlikely to impact the insurance companies bottom line.

          If anything did look like it was going to, their first step would be to increase their prices. The second step would be to stick in more exclusionary clauses.

      2. heyrick Silver badge

        "insurance doesn't occur until you cross the building threshold"

        Hmm, here in France it is considered that a commute is a work related activity and would not be happening if not going to work, therefore if one is in a crash on the way to work (or home), then it counts as a type of "accident de travail". It isn't just their home either, other residences regularly visited for family reasons count (such as if they went to their brother's after work), as well as any journey undertaken to go eat at lunchtime.

        [https://www.saisirprudhommes.com/fiches-prudhommes/accident-de-trajet-indemnisation-declaration, in French of course]

        1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

          any journey undertaken to go eat at lunchtime.

          Yes, that happened to me. My wife had collected me and we were on our way to get lunch when we were rear-ended when stopped at a red light. No injuries apart from a few short-lived aches & pains from seat belt & headrest impact, insurance paid for the written-off car without a problem (the at-fault driver admitted everything), but I'd made the mistake of commenting to the police who attended that I was on my lunch break, and that got officially written-up. HR & the health insurance then started chasing me up to fill in vast amounts of paperwork to declare it an 'accident de travail'. Such a PITA I wished I'd kept my mouth shut.

          1. Dr_N

            I know a few people who lost out on car accident insurance claims in France. Because they only had standard car insurance policies and had left work early for personal

            /medical appointments.

            You are only covered to drive to and from work at accepted commute hours.

            (I still pay for full business car insurance coverage even though I do not do much onsite work any more.)

            1. heyrick Silver badge

              "at accepted commute hours"

              Interesting. If the employer accepted the change, it should be counted.

              "En cas de modification exceptionnelle des horaires du salarié décidée ou acceptée par l’employeur, l’horaire de trajet est inhabituel mais l’accident reste considéré comme un accident de trajet."

              Source: https://www.previssima.fr/dossier/un-accident-de-trajet-quest-ce-que-cest.html#quest-ce-quun-trajet-normal

              Plus, isn't it the employer's insurance that gets involved in this case, and not your own?

              1. This post has been deleted by its author

              2. Dr_N

                Very much a grey area, with the insurance company deciding. Hence why I still pay top whack for business insurance. Just for peace of mind. I don't have to fill or justify the "reason for trip" when making a claim.

                In the old days there was a tendency to have "pool" insurance to cover employees' occasional trips. But these were mostly dropped and/or had extrely limited kilometre clauses.

        2. big_D

          It is the same in Germany.

      3. Roland6 Silver badge

        Expect the insurance companies to define commute to be travel/journey in public space ie. you need to at least step outside of your front gate on to the public pavement. Plus add clauses so that you can't claim for falls on your ice-covered path on route to your garage with the intent of getting into your vehicle to go to work.

        1. esque

          It's not up to insurance companies to decide that. A court ruled and now the insurance companies have to live with it. Or try to appeal the case to a higher court.

        2. gnasher729 Silver badge

          German insurance companies have no say in deciding what is a workplace accident, that is up to the courts. Plus, this is usually not covered by a private insurance company, but by a Berufsgenossenschaft which is a non-profit organisation with the goal of helping companies (by keeping their employees healthy, by stopping them from violating regulations, and so on).

      4. martyn.hare
        Coat

        Except the right to work from home...

        Is something the German public is likely to have granted to them following this pandemic. This was something they were asking for long before the great public health disaster of 2019 and now the whole population has a very simple, easy justification for it.

        What's more likely to happen is insurance companies making the legal argument that if the home is the workplace then it's subject to the same workplace health and safety policies as the main office (no smoking, no pets, fire extinguishers present at key doorways, LED lighting for a safe exit in an emergency etc.) and refusing to pay out if all the criteria are not met.

        1. big_D

          Re: Except the right to work from home...

          There is already a legal requirement for the workspace to be ergonomic - desk, chair, monitor, mouse, keyboard etc. and anything that is missing is the responsibility of the employer to provide.

          If you have an employee who already has a decent office set-up at home (E.g. I have height adjustable desks, decent displays, ergonomic keyboards and mice), then the employer doesn't have to do much. If the employee is sitting on a dining chair at the table, or sitting on the sofa with a laptop balanced on their knee, then they need to ensure that a desk, monitor, keyboard and mouse are provided.

          If the employee decides not to use the equipment and suffers injury through improper use, they are not covered by the company insurance.

          But it is going to be very expensive to get people set-up with professional equipment at home.

          1. imanidiot Silver badge

            Re: Except the right to work from home...

            I think the key words in the article in that regard are that the equipment used by the bloke in question was set up by the company in the home of the employee. Thus the company in this case IS responsible for the setup used in this case (and this is probably what will break some other cases if a person is just opening their company laptop on the kitchen table)

            1. big_D

              Re: Except the right to work from home...

              No, if they are "opening the laptop on the kitchen table", they aren't allowed to work at home.

              The employer has to ensure that the home office environment is properly set-up, before they can work in home office - lockdowns excluded.

          2. Swarthy

            Re: Except the right to work from home...

            If the employee decides not to use the equipment and suffers injury through improper use, they are not covered by the company insurance.

            But it is going to be very expensive to get people set-up with professional equipment at home.

            The employer sets up the proper equipment at the office, if the employee is working remote, then they have "chosen not to use the provided equipment"

            At least that's how it would work in The Land of the Fee.

      5. big_D

        As long as you take the direct route to and from the place of work, the employer's insurance covers any injury incurred.

      6. gnasher729 Silver badge

        Remember this is in Germany, where _any_ commute to and from work is insured. Insurance companies will do no such thing because the number of cases where someone falls down the stairs when going from bedroom to their home office is minimal compared to the payouts for thousands of traffic accidents where people are injured on their way to work.

    2. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge

      A spiral staircase would be deemed a higher risk than a conventional one. And carrying a hot beverage? The risk assessment may advise consuming the beverage before stepping on to the staircase

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        But if he was carrying a drink he couldn't have been maintaining 3 points of contact while climbing the stairs and so was negligent. Assuming he had received working at heights safety training, if not everyone who works from home in a house with stairs will now need their fall-arrest ticket

        1. anothercynic Silver badge

          Yep. That sounds familiar. No uncovered hot drinks on stairs for us. We're required to use the lift for that.

        2. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          I can't maintain two points of contact when carrying any drink on the stairs: due to a quite significant hereditary tremor, I have to use two hands to carry any uncovered drink, hot or cold, even on the flat. Three options: brain surgery, beta-blockers (which gave me vertigo that lasted ten years after I stopped taking them), or booze. And no stress or anxiety, which is not so easy with a boss who likes to micro-manage.

          1. Robert Carnegie Silver badge

            Have you tried a bucket (with handle)? Or some kind of handle-hanging tea tray and/or cake-stand, but basically a bucket should work. And should take care of things if it doesn't.

        3. localzuk

          Its not possible to maintain 3 points of contact on all stairs anyway - if it only has 1 handrail, or is wide enough that you can only reach 1. You either have to dangerously grab one handrail with 2 hands whenever you take a step, or you only ever have 2 points of contact as you move.

      2. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        I could see in the US that the company would then sue the homeowner to recover costs with the rationale that it was an unsafe staircase. Since the homeowner was the employee, their homeowners would then need to cover the costs and the employees homeowners insurance premium would probably go up as a result.

      3. gnasher729 Silver badge

        So what? Surely a spiral staircase with a cup of coffee is less risk than a fifty mile car journey, which is also covered.

    3. Anonymous Coward
      Holmes

      In all seriousness

      In America, before the pandemic but in response to Congressional budget shenanigans (and weather emergencies) which forced designated "critical" Federal employees to work from home, each employee had to carryout and certify that their WFH office met listed criteria.

      It's not a stretch to see that adopted by more employers, including not only the office but also the "commute", for insurance purposes.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: In all seriousness

        Seems reasonable. Even before COVID, when I wanted to WFH for a few hours from time to time I had to provide my employer with a signed declaration that my home office was suitably-equipped, and a certificate from my insurance company that I had home insurance.

      2. big_D

        Re: In all seriousness

        This is also a requirement in non-Lockdown work from home in Germany, except the employer has to make up for any deficits in the employee's home office equipment.

    4. Version 1.0 Silver badge

      This is probably a result of the German work environment being more worker supportive than the UK and American environments which are far more Boss friendly.

      1. TeeCee Gold badge
        Facepalm

        Certainly more lawyer friendly. As a result of this towering monument of legal cobblers, a few of them should be able to buy a new yacht each and have enough left over for a Ferrari.

    5. Mike 137 Silver badge

      'risk assessments'

      On one UK contract that involved flexible working, I had to provide a photo of my 'home office' for approval before the contract was confirmed. I'm not sure of the criteria used, but mine passed. I suspect that it was little more than a "due diligence process".

      1. Eclectic Man Silver badge

        Re: 'risk assessments'

        If you usually work from home on HMG business, with access to sensitive data, your boss has to personally check the location for physical security (or send someone expert round to do it). Not sure if they check for Health and Safety of the router from bed to desk though.

        Speaking personally, I always ablate and wash first, so I'd not have qualified anyway. But then, fortunately I've not (yet) broken my back, although I did once stub a toe quote painfully :o(

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: 'risk assessments'

          ablate

          Ouch...

          1. Anonymous South African Coward Silver badge

            "ablate"

            Reminds me of those ablative suits in Schlock Mercenary.

            1. Swarthy
              Happy

              Re: "ablate"

              Popcorn, that you pop twice.

              1. Eclectic Man Silver badge
                Unhappy

                Re: "ablate"

                Aaarrrggghhhhh!!!!!

                Should have written "ablute", curse you, auto-'correct'.

        2. Precordial thump Silver badge

          Re: 'risk assessments'

          Singular ablative of ego...? That would be me.

    6. brotherelf

      Technically that is already the case. The current wording around working from home vs. teleworking vs. working from a home office is very carefully crafted so they don't have to send H&S to check whether window glare reflects on your screen and whether your chair meets ergonomic requirements etc., not to mention things like "can you lock away the computer or otherwise ascertain your kid doesn't install their virus-ridden pirated copy of Doom on the device you're handling business matters on".

    7. anothercynic Silver badge

      Some insurance companies already mandate this for home working. You as the home worker have to consider what is risky in what you would consider the workplace at home. If it's the next room, then you're probably ok, but if it's downstairs and you sleep upstairs, the stairs do add a risk that needs to be declared.

      Welcome to the new world.

    8. big_D

      If you are "just" working from home, as opposed to being in lockdown and working from home, the employer is already responsible for performing an assessment of the "home office", to ensure you have a height adjustable desk, a proper desk chair (height adjustable, arms, tilt etc.) and that monitors, keyboard and mouse are made available (possibly also a docking station, considering the lack of ports on many modern laptops).

      Anything that is missing has to be supplied by the company, if they are letting the employee work from home. That generally means at least a doubling of costs for the workspace, as they will generally also have an office in the company's building.

      Logistics will also be much more expensive, ensuring the equipment is delivered and installed properly and organising the collection of the equipment when the employee leaves the company, (moving it to temporary storage) and on to the next employee.

      This is probably one of the reasons why employers aren't very interested in home working, when it hasn't been forced on them in the shape of a lockdown.

      (General rule: If you work in Germany, you employer's insurance covers the direct route to and from the place of work. That means, if you have an accident on the way to or from work, you get compensated through the employer/their insurance.

      If you deviate from the "most direct route" - that can be argued with alternate routes due to roadworks etc. - and, say, drive to the petrol station to refuel the car or you drive to the supermarket on the way home, the employer's insurance cover doesn't cover the journey.)

    9. gnasher729 Silver badge

      No. Your commute to work has been insured for over 100 years, and Germans managed just fine without in person risk assessment of people's cars, motorbikes, bicycles or whatever they used to get to work. Why on earth would they start assessing people's homes? It doesn't make any sense whatsoever.

  3. Bongwater

    Hello, this is your WC/Osha compliance department....

    Please allow us to come in to your home to make it a safe working environment. Actually, just give us a copy of your key and we will call ten minutes ahead of time to come check your working space.

    Thank you,

    The Mgmt

    1. big_D

      Re: Hello, this is your WC/Osha compliance department....

      It is already a requirement here.

      We've been ordering monitors, keyboard, mice, docking stations etc. for home-office use like nobody's business. Luckily we aren't responsible for ensuring the office furniture is up to spec in home offices, that is another department!

      But I did have to sign off that my home working environment is up to scratch - it is actually better equipped than my office workspace.

  4. Dwarf

    Personally, I don't want anyone except me making decisions about what I do / don't do / how I do them in my own home.

    1. Allan George Dyer
      Paris Hilton

      Isn't that the definition of WFH? Your employer gets to tell you what to do at home. Unless, of course, you are self-employed, with the exception of if you talk to yourself.

  5. DS999 Silver badge

    Is that only valid for working from home?

    Seems like you would still have to come down the stairs in the morning if you are commuting to an office, so they would be on the hook for that accident regardless.

    I thought the US was king of the frivolous lawsuit, but I guess Germany is trying to outdo us!

    1. mark l 2 Silver badge

      Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

      This verdict seems to make it out as though the employer is liable for injuries on any part of the commute to work, so if the bloke had tripped and fallen as he was walking down the pavement on the way to the office the employer would be have to pay compensation. That doesn't seem right?

      1. Richard 12 Silver badge

        Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

        And if you fall down the Tube gap, your employer is jointly liable?

        1. Phil O'Sophical Silver badge

          Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

          They would probably claim negligence for you not paying attention to the "mind the gap" announcement.

      2. esque

        Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

        This is standard in Germany: Your commute is covered under the employers insurance. But only the direct commute, no excurses to Starbucks or shopping for groceries.

        This is nothing new but well established.

        New is that a court found that under specific circumstances, this also applies to your commute from bed to work desk.

      3. big_D

        Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

        That is correct, though. Normally the commute starts when you leave the house - or if you have woken up and went to the bathroom or had breakfast, then the last bit between the kitchen and your home office.

        It seems that if you tumble directly out of bed and down the stairs into your home office, that is now the commute.

        If you are going to a real place of work, you are covered as soon as you leave the house and during the normal (direct) way to work. The same for going home. If you make a detour, for instance to go shopping or to fuel the car, the company insurance doesn't cover any injuries. So, if you slip on a banana in the supermarket, their insurance and not your employer's covers you.

      4. gnasher729 Silver badge

        Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

        That is EXACTLY right. In Germany, and in France, the commute directly from home to work and back is part of your work and is insured. Any accident during that commute, the employer would have to pay, except the employer is also required to have insurance for this, so the insurance has to pay.

        The whole court case was just about the question: If you get out of bed and go straight to your works computer, is that a "commute", that is is it travelling from home to work? And the answer was a clear "yes".

    2. a_yank_lurker

      Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

      I thought Feraldom had the lock on loony laws but the Fatherland actually found a new one. Hopefully our criminal failures aka Congress critters don't getting any ideas.

      1. Fruit and Nutcase Silver badge
        Alert

        Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

        I guess it is back to Fatherland now, after 16 years of Mutterland

        1. Spanners
          Boffin

          Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

          I always thought of it as Muttiland

      2. gnasher729 Silver badge

        Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

        What exactly is "loony" about this? If I'm employed, I have costs that an unemployed person wouldn't have, and I have risks that an unemployed person wouldn't have. For example the cost of going to work, and the risk of getting injured when travelling to work. It's common sense that all the cost that you have because you are going to work is tax deductible (yes, your train ticket is tax deductible in Germany, the actual cost of your home office is tax deductible, not a ridiculous £6 per day), and all the risk (like accidents while travelling to work) is insured.

    3. low_resolution_foxxes

      Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

      I usually like to see things from an employee's perspective or the middle ground, but this strikes me as problematic from many angles.

      Let's say I'm having a beer in the evening and finishing off a big project. Can I still claim? My employer and their insurance would want a risk assessment and probably want me to sign h&s agreements (wet floors, stairs, electric stuff, photos?.

      But seriously, imo my commute is when I leave the house to physically head to work. If I spaz my back walking around my home find to my laptop, surely that should fall under my insurance?

      1. anothercynic Silver badge

        Re: Is that only valid for working from home?

        If you're having a beer whilst finishing off your big project, that's a whole new can of worms... drinking at your workplace etc. Trust *someone* to make that connection.

  6. John Savard

    Who Pays?

    One would expect that the ruling would be binding on the insurance companies, and not only on the employer, so the employer would not have to pay for this out of its own pocket.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: Who Pays?

      Indeed, as companies are required to have such insurance this ruling will be based on the principle that the insured pays that the burden of the injury is shared as widely as possible rather than lie entirely on one badly injured person.

      The same principle applies if you hit a reckless pedestrian in your car, your insurance will end up paying regardless of the actions of the pedestrian.

      1. Yet Another Anonymous coward Silver badge

        Re: Who Pays?

        Unless the insurance company denies the claim because the home staircase didn't meet HSE standards and the company was negligent in not inspecting it.

        Then the company goes bust, everyone gets fired, shareholders/pensioners lose all their money - but fsck the bosses right ?

        1. Anonymous Coward
          Anonymous Coward

          Re: Who Pays?

          Insurance companies do what the courts tell them to.

          There seems to be a lot of people who believe that they have much more power than they do.

          1. A.P. Veening Silver badge

            Re: Who Pays?

            Insurance companies do what the courts tell them to.

            True, provided you can get the court to tell them what to do.

            There seems to be a lot of people who believe that they have much more power than they do.

            Insurance companies have been known to go to extreme lengths to avoid paying out claims.

        2. gnasher729 Silver badge

          Re: Who Pays?

          Not at all. The company is liable. The insurance is liability insurance, therefore the insurance has to pay. They would have to prove gross liability. Since nobody in German does that kind of idiotic home inspection, that's not negligent. And falling down the stairs wasn't grossly negligent.

    2. ecofeco Silver badge

      Re: Who Pays?

      Moot point. Germany has excellent public medicine.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        Re: Who Pays?

        > "Moot point. Germany has excellent public medicine."

        Does it also give free lifelong support to people with serious permanent injuries?

        "Injured" might not be "dead" but it can be very close to dead.

  7. Ken Moorhouse Silver badge

    Windows Update

    Next someone will be putting in a bill to have double-glazing fitted in their home.

    1. TRT

      Re: Windows Update

      A clear case of defenestration.

      BOWFH.

      1. TRT

        Re: Windows Update

        Should I be clearer? Worker puts in claim for updating Windows as per the OP comment. Queried with IT dept over cost. BOFH goes out to investigate why their department is being questioned over a cost they usually manage to disguise through finance. After all, they don't want anyone scrutinising the accounting in too much depth. Finds con artist employee at home. Asks to see this Windows upgrade. Checks Windows open correctly. Finds potential insecurity which is demonstrated to end user in a lesson they're unlikely to forget. Well at least they're unlikely to forget if they ever come out of the coma.

        Bastard Operator Working From (other people's) Home.

  8. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    Happy to be in Switzerland

    Where your employer has to provide you with a full accident insurance covering you everywhere, including your free time. Saves a lot of discussions.

  9. Pete 2 Silver badge

    actions, not words

    > more than half of UK employees would quit if their company pulled hybrid working options

    Although I reckon that is about the norm, with or without any particular benefit being the subject of the survey.

    The point being that there is a large proportion of employees who spend all their time grumbling about how bad their employer / boss / working conditions are

    And how they are (always) thinking of leaving.

    But none of them ever do (more's the pity for those they would leave behind). Partly because they are all talk and no trousers, but mostly because no other company would employ a morose git who would spend their entire time at their new company complaining about how bad things there were.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Re: actions, not words

      I'd say home/hybrid working is bit different to the bowl of fruit the dieting boss and office jogging zealot bother with.

      Not having 3 hours a day eaten up getting from a to b and the stress involved all so a mediocre boss can see bums on seats is a better perk than cake on birthday, company bbq, fruit etc, if your job is computer based there is no need to travel, if your employers IT is so rudimentary they don't have a vpn or the trust in their work force to wfh, get a better job, and let the dinosaurs go extinct

  10. werdsmith Silver badge

    "First morning journey" are the operative words here as it was emphasised that the guy started work "immediately without having breakfast beforehand" – the suggestion being that if he had descended the staircase and fallen while on his way to fill a bowl of Frosties, the claim he was commuting could have failed.

    So he fell and broke his back and then immediately started work. This says nothing about his intent when he first stepped on the staircase.

    1. gnasher729 Silver badge

      If you read the article, he did that regularly - directly from bed to work - and most importantly, the insurance company didn't claim otherwise. Plus being a civil case, you'd have to decide what is more likely to be correct, and since the employee was actually there and the insurance company wasn't, and since it is illegal to lie in court, the employee would be believed anyway.

  11. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    German Law is complicated

    If you drip on your way to the restroom- in the office - it is your private business, meaning no coverage. If you were on the way to the Xerox machine in the room next to the restroom it is a work related accident.

    Medical coverage is much better for work related accidents then what your ordinary health insurance would cover.

    1. Ken Moorhouse Silver badge

      Re: If you drip on your way to the restroom- in the office - it is your private business

      I am dreading reaching that age...

  12. Robert Grant

    Across the Channel, it came to light this week that more than half of UK employees would quit if their company pulled hybrid working options. It is nice to see that, thanks to the pandemic, workers are holding more cards than usual.

    We could already quit before the pandemic.

  13. Hull

    Report incomplete

    The court decision put special emphasis on the way to the home office only being insured if it can be proven that the insured person was indeed traveling for the first time of the day into the home office, which must be a dedicated room separated from the rest of the dwelling (in this case being on a different level). That first walk is unavoidable, and thus insured, coffee and bathroom breaks probably won't be.

    A brief report of the decision by the court: https://www.bsg.bund.de/SharedDocs/Verhandlungen/DE/2021/2021_12_08_B_02_U_04_21_R.html

    1. yetanotheraoc Silver badge

      Re: Report incomplete

      Thanks, I was thinking there could only be a valid claim if the staircase was the way to the office and not the way to the kitchen. Legal cases that make no sense on general principles often turn out to have been decided on fine details.

  14. Ken Moorhouse Silver badge

    Spinal Staircase

    Perhaps that's what he calls it now.

    ===

    One of my clients had an office on the third floor of a building in Chelsea accessed by a spiral staircase. It must have somehow passed fire-regs but I wouldn't like to be there in the event of a fire.

    I supplied them with an A3 colour laser printer and wondered how the hell we would get it up there. I think the only time I ever took my hat off to Initial City Link was the day it was delivered. A few of us were around at the time. "Where do you want it?" the delivery driver asked (it must have been his first day).

    We showed him.

    Amazingly he was up for it, and between three or four of us got it up there in one piece (the printer and the courier).

    1. A.P. Veening Silver badge

      Re: Spinal Staircase

      Amazingly he was up for it, and between three or four of us got it up there in one piece (the printer and the courier).

      Didn't the printer come with a nicer font than Courier?

      1. Ken Moorhouse Silver badge

        Re: Didn't the printer come with a nicer font than Courier?

        Good point.

        ISTR someone - I think it was on Experts Exchange - severely reprimanded an innocent questioner who characterised (oh, no, accidental Monday morning puns) Courier as a "font" rather than a "typeface".

        P.S. <-<-.

  15. Ptol

    The world can be very different from the UK / USA

    Thats nothing, ACC in New Zealand would cover full medical, rehabilitation expenses and 80% lost income for a drunk tourist arriving from overseas tripping over the step from the plane onto the airbridge at Auckland airport.

    Literally, everyone physically in New Zealand at the time of an accident is covered. We are talking private medical cover standard of care too, none of the "come back in a month if its still a problem" or "refer you onto a queue thats 18 months long" kind of non care that that happens in the UK with the under funded NHS.

    1. oliversalmon

      Re: The world can be very different from the UK / USA

      While that's true, you can't sue those responsible for your accident in court, so you could be missing out on a much bigger pay out that can fund private health care and more.

      Also there's no incentive on those responsible to change as they are never held financially responsible.

      Swings and roundabouts I guess.

  16. T. F. M. Reader

    Bad laws (or contracts, or policies) -> hard cases

    [The law applies ... where] "computer workstations" are "permanently set up by the employer in the private area of ​​the employees."

    So, do laptops count as "permanent"? No? What if there is a docking station?

    "Set up by the employer"? Does a PFY have to visit before this clause is triggered?

    I'll chalk the "private area" bit to Google Translate...

    1. TRT

      Re: Bad laws (or contracts, or policies) -> hard cases

      Sounds quite precise TBH. Reminds me of Douglas Adam's defining life as that property a being would lose after falling from a mysterious ice-coated cave suspended several miles up in the sky above the ground. The definition could equally apply to the being's spectacles.

    2. big_D

      Re: Bad laws (or contracts, or policies) -> hard cases

      The employer is responsible for ensuring the employee has a proper (H&S compliant) workspace in their "home office" (so no sitting on the couch with the laptop on the knee). Anything not "up to spec" has to be provided by the employer.

      If the employee doesn't use the supplied workspace and gets injured (bad back, carpal-tunnel etc.) that is their problem. If they were sitting at the desk and the chair broke & they injured their back, the company insurance would pay, bad posture, when the company provides the right equipment, no.

  17. Persona Silver badge

    Death in service

    I had very generous "death in service" life insurance that covered me in the event of my death while commuting from home to the office. My wife was under strict instructions that were I to die at home for any reason she was to wait till the time of my next morning commute then drag my lifeless body out to the road.

  18. Anonymous Coward
    Anonymous Coward

    'More than half of workers would quite if employers pulled hybrid working options'

    My utter arse they would. It's easy to say thst I a hypothetical answer to a hypothetical scenario, it's an entirely different thing to do when you're putting your mortgage on the line.

    1. Anonymous Coward
      Anonymous Coward

      Absolutely. Not going to quit until I have something else to go to. But my company is going to lose me at some point for their stance on home working despite the last 2 years of home working be record years for them.

      1. Anonymous Coward
        Anonymous Coward

        @a/c

        "But my company is going to lose me at some point for their stance on home working despite the last 2 years of home working be record years for them."

        You flatter yourself. "Your" company will survive without you. And if their stance is so bad, how come you are still there?

        1. Eclectic Man Silver badge
          Alert

          HMRC view

          Umm, as I understand things, if you mainly regularly work at a specific location for two or more years, then according to the UK's HMRC, that is your designated place of work for tax and expenses rules. This would mean that anyone who has been told to work from home for the last two years, and done so, would have no legal claim to work in an office building, even the one they used to use.

          Now, that could mean being able to claim expenses from your employer for any trip into 'the office', but it could also mean that your employer might no longer be required to provide you with any office, and could then save the money of heating, or even having an office building.

          I think we need a lawyer specialising in employment law to provide 'an opinion' on this one.*

          *Well, those of you who are still employed might, I'm retired so watching from the sidelines, as it were.

  19. Prst. V.Jeltz Silver badge
    Flame

    reading this story , and the comments about how insurance companies operate , and about where and when people try to claim ..

    just makes me weep for mankind .

    If your a stuntman , underwater welder , soldier , coal miner .

    Yes insurance might need to be a thing .

    If someone cant sit at a desk in an office , or make their way to it , without hurting themsleves , and then feeling the need that someone else should pay for it .. well

    see icion

    1. gnasher729 Silver badge

      You see, you go to Germany and tell them this, they will look at you and wonder what is going wrong in your head. You can have an utterly stupid accident tomorrow. Not be able to work, lose your home, your wife gets a divorce because you can't feed her or the children, do you think that is something you want?

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