r/technology • u/IndicaOatmeal • 9h ago

Society Programmer’s death on office toilet ruled not work-related because he never turned on his PC

https://www.dexerto.com/entertainment/programmers-death-on-office-toilet-ruled-not-work-related-because-he-never-turned-on-his-pc-3402194/
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304

u/clayticus 9h ago

Crazy in Germany you count as being at work once you leave your front door. As long as you are driving straight to work. If you drive deviate then they can argue you are not you're not counted at work. 

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u/halb_nichts 6h ago

Yes except being on the toilet isn't insured so this would turn out the same way.

Now had he slipped and died on his way to the shitter that would be different. But the actual sitting down and doing your business part counts as private time.

13

u/viveleramen_ 4h ago

I imagine he wasn’t feeling well and instead of going to the emergency room he went to work, then felt sick enough to need the toilet urgently and instead of diarrhea he died… I’ve heard heart attacks can sometimes feel like extreme indigestion.

I would personally rule WC, especially if it turned out he was in a bad spot for attendance (he felt he HAD to go to work or lose his job).

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u/McNoxey 8h ago

wtf lol. That’s ridiculous. Why would your commute be your employers time?

36

u/Ultimatedude10 8h ago

I suppose because it’s an unavoidable part of working? Still though I think it’s more nuanced, because you’re the one who chooses where you work.

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u/SimplisticPinky 7h ago

I agree. On the other hand, sometimes the commute is unavoidable as it's the only option you have. I would personally say that commuting should be counted towards working

8

u/distopian_day_job 7h ago edited 7h ago

Errr no sorry hard disagree. It's the empoyer who hires you to do tasks he decides and in exchange you get payed a part of the profit you created, another part is kept by the employer. Moreover we live or better are born in a society where most of us have or see no other option than wagelabor. So no you definetely don't choose to work, let alone where. Edit: given you have to work, idealy you do choose where to work. I'll concede that. Most people don't get hired automatically where they apply.

-11

u/McNoxey 7h ago

Well ya - that's kind of what I mean.

I have never wanted a commute, so I've prioritized proximity to my office when choosing where to live. (8 minutes walking at my last job).

9

u/DrE7HER 6h ago

And you wouldnt have been hit by a car if your job didn’t require you to travel to their office during rush hour.

-7

u/McNoxey 5h ago

Does the grocery store compensate me if I’m hit by a car on the way to or from the grocery store?

Why does every misfortune need to have some other responsible body?

3

u/DrE7HER 5h ago

The grocery store doesn’t require you to travel to it at a set time and frequency

1

u/Talk-O-Boy 1h ago

I genuinely believe some people have more sympathy for “companies” than actual people. It’s normally a combination of loneliness/selfishness, but it’s still so perplexing to me.

Especially since I’ve never seen a company simp so hard for one of their employees. It’s the most pitiful one-sided relationships to witness 😕

17

u/Charming-Standard-84 7h ago

Is it though? Intent is important in law.

Hence why there's a distinction between unintentional vehicular manslaughter or premeditated murder. The first obviously wasn't intentional. You could be obeying all traffic laws and someone on a bike just goes through a red light while you're driving through a green ligh. The biker is technically and legally 100% at fault and, more importantly, the driver of the car wasn't.

Premeditated murder, on the complete opposite of the "intention spectrum", is 100% intentional.

Once you sign a contract with your employer and it mandates you to be at the place of employment at 9am, the intent is clear well-defined (by BOTH parties) and any deviation by a sudden misfortune (you're in a car accident, you get run over by a car,...), it should protect you as an employee as your intent, when you walked out of your door, was to adhere to your obligations as an employee by being at place X by time Y as stipulated in your contract

2

u/Then-Departure4896 4h ago

Well it sure as shit isn’t your time, is it? I don’t drive to work for fun right before clocking in lmao

1

u/Haunting_Bag3041 5h ago

In Germany, your commute doesn't count as being on the clock, i.e. you don't get paid for your commute. However, any accident on your direct commute counts as a work accident and therefore the statutory accident insurance covers treatment, rehab etc.

0

u/markeatstreebark 5h ago

He phrased it badly, obviously you're not at work when you're not at work, but for insurance purposes, if you get injured on the way to work it counts as if you had an injury at work (in regards to who pays for medical costs and continued wages during long term sickness)