New landmark judgment on working from home
A new Supreme Court judgment expands the boundaries for when an injury that has occurred while working from home is covered, explains Finansforbundet's chief legal adviser.
Is the layout the employer's responsibility?
Previous cases have focused on the employers’ lack of responsibility for the layout of the home, but employers have been held liable if the accident could be linked to the performance of the work.
For example, a landmark decision by the Danish National Board of Appeals in 2023 established that it was a work-related injury when an employee sustained an arm injury when moving a sunshade to be able to see the computer screen. The employee had gone outside to work because the spouse was also working from home and was having a Zoom meeting in the living room.
Last year, the Supreme Court ruled, however, that it was not a work-related injury when an employee hit her head on a staircase while moving her desk. In this case, the Supreme Court based its decision on the fact that the woman's employer had not asked her to move the desk and that the employer had no influence on where in the home the desk was placed.
Tekst The current case was also initially rejected by the National Board of Appeals and the district court precisely because the woman tripped over private belongings on her way from the coffee machine to her work station. But now, the Supreme Court has established that it was a work-related injury after all.
"The employer is responsible for the layout of the workplace and a healthy and safe working environment, even when work is carried out from the employee's home," the judgment states.
At work or not?
As a general rule, the same legislation applies to work-related injuries – regardless of where the work is performed. Nevertheless, it can be more difficult to have an accident at home acknowledged as a work-related injury, because the boundaries for when you are in fact working at your home office are more blurry than when you are working at your workplace.
“It’s essentially about whether you sustained the injury while performing your work,” Mette Hjøllund Schousboe explains.
Because what if an employee is injured while hanging out the washing or putting out the rubbish? In the chief legal adviser's assessment, this would not constitute a work-related injury.
However, with the Supreme Court's ruling, it is now evident that fetching coffee is considered part of the work day.
"A was carrying out her job when she fell. Therefore, she was not performing activities of a private nature when the accident occurred," the judgment states.
Also relevant in the financial sector
Finansforbundet's chief legal adviser points out that the case is important because it is one of the few decisions delivered about working from home.
The case was conducted by the trade union HK on behalf of a member, but it is equally relevant for employees in the financial sector, stresses Mette Hjøllund Schousboe.
"It will be the same for financial sector employees when they work from home," she says.