Everyone is talking about job bikes and they are becoming increasingly popular. Employers lease bicycles and let their employees use them for private purposes.
Often, the employer also transfers duties from the leasing contract to the employee. If an accident occurs during the performance of such an obligation, it is an work-related accident. This has now been clarified by the LSG Baden-Württemberg.
Facts of the case:
In its leasing contract, the employer agreed on special annual maintenance. The employer expressly obliged the employees participating in the job bike model to carry out the annual maintenance and even reminded the employees of this by e-mail. After collecting the serviced bike, one employee had an accident with it on the way home from the workshop when the driver’s door of a parked car was suddenly opened.
Conclusion – LSG Baden-Württemberg, judgement of 21.10.2021, ref. no. L 1 U 779/21, call no. 227027:
According to LSG Baden-Württemberg, the accident is to be classified as an work-related accident. The use of a job bike itself is basically for private use. The annual maintenance represents a company-related obligation, so that the company connection outweighs the private interests of the employee. The employer assumed an obligation (annual maintenance) towards the lessor and transferred it to the employee. Even if the maintenance took place outside regular working hours, the reminder e-mail from the employer had a business connection. Therefore, when the accident occurred, the employee was on her insured direct way home from work.
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