Austrian Police: Time Spent Changing and Gearing up Is Work Time

Jan 9, 2026 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

The Austrian Administrative Court (Verwaltungsgerichtshof, hereinafter VwGH) has recently examined whether putting on your uniform and equipment counts as part of working hours.

In the case at hand, the appellant police officer submitted a request for official recognition of the time allocated to changing uniforms as compensable working hours.

The retired law enforcement officer appealed to his department to have the time spent changing clothes and putting on gear classified as duty hours, seeking overtime compensation for this period.

The Vienna Provincial Police Directorate turned down the application, explaining that officers already receive allowances to cover their expenses.

The Federal Administrative Court rejected the appeal, after which the appellant brought the case before the VwGH.

ECJ: Working time consists of three elements

The VwGH cited ECJ criteria for ‘working time,’ which includes three elements:

1.     The initial component involves the responsibility to perform duties at a designated location or to remain available as needed. For employees who do not have a set workplace, this can also refer to time spent traveling.

1.     The second component pertains to an employee’s duty to maintain availability. An employee is considered available when they are able to comply with their employer’s directives and fulfill their job responsibilities, meaning they do not have unrestricted control over their own time.

1.     The third component is an employee’s duty to perform their work, which includes necessary travel time from their home to customers for those without a fixed workplace.

The VwGH determined that, under EU law, both an executive officer’s preparatory and follow-up tasks are considered working time. It is against EU law to count only ‘core work’ as working time.

VwGH Ro 2023/12/0057 (15 September 2025)