Employees working from home are also covered by statutory accident insurance on the way to starting work for the first time in their own apartment or house.

The decisive factor is the “tendency towards professional activity”, as the Federal Social Court (BSG) in Kassel decided on Wednesday.

This also applies to accidents before the latest change in the law in June.

(Az: B 2 U 4/21 R)

The plaintiff is an employed area sales manager in the field. He usually started his work between 7:00 and 7:30 a.m. without breakfast. On the way from the bedroom to the home office one floor below, he slipped and fell on the spiral staircase in 2018. He had broken a thoracic vertebra in the process. The trade association for trade and goods logistics did not recognize this as an insured commuting accident. Even if the accident was a long time ago, the plaintiff's attorney had also referred to the corona pandemic. This shows how important it is to protect employees well in the home office.

The BSG now awarded the plaintiff benefits from accident insurance.

In addition to treatment costs, depending on the consequences of the accident, this can also include pension payments.

The reason given by the BSG was that the way up the stairs was closely related to the work.

The sales manager wanted to start work.

This "objective tendency to act" is decisive.

The Kassel judges emphasized that this applies regardless of a change in the law on June 18, 2021 and was also before.

According to the new regulation, there is accident protection in the home office "to the same extent as when working on the company premises".

The change in the law safeguards the recent BSG case law, according to which company journeys within the apartment are also insured, and in the future also routes to the kitchen door to eat or drink.

In the case of dispute, it was also about such a so-called operating route.

The BSG equates a fall with an accident if an employee has reached the company, but then falls on the way between the company entrance and the workplace.

In the case of so-called commuting accidents, on the other hand, the BSG insists that the accident protection only begins after stepping through the private outer door.