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by Tiziana Di Giovannandrea

10 December 2021 In Germany, a man, employed in the sales department of a German company working in smart working,

slipped down the stairs of his home and

had serious consequences

, breaking his back.



The incident occurred while the employee was moving from the bedroom to the smart working area of ​​the home, so the employee will be able to file a compensation claim with his employer's insurance.



This is what was established by a German court, according to what CNN reported, which recognized the connection between what the employee was doing and the working relationship with his company.



The decision of the Federal Social Court overturned those of two lower courts, according to which the journey of a few steps could not be considered a commuter route. The employee, an area sales manager who works for a company identified as "R-GmbH", was on his way to work "from his bedroom to his home office. downstairs ", when he slipped and fractured a vertebra.



The judges found that his travel was

"insured as an activity in the interest of his employer, such as commuting to work"

 as the man was walking down the stairs, for the first time that day, to go directly to his office inside his home. In short, his path was the one that was leading him to the workplace downstairs and for this reason his case became a case of workplace insurance. The insurance initially refused to cover the accident.



The German law, following the increasingly massive use of teleworking during the pandemic, was amended last June to include more activities at home that are covered by work insurance, if those activities are in the interest of the company. .



Insurers, which provide legal accident coverage, may face increased claims following this week's ruling, estimated Killian O'Brien, a lecturer in German law at University College London.