d1e3533-1-1__para__4
However, when the worker is obliged to remain at the workplace which includes or is indistinguishable from the worker’s residence, that mere fact does not suffice for that period to be classified as ‘working time’ within the meaning of the Directive; rather, the qualification of such ‘on-call’ time as ‘working time’ or ‘rest period’ will depend on the intensity of constraints imposed on the worker by the employer. Indeed, in that case, the requirement that the worker does not leave the workplace does not necessarily mean that the worker must remain apart from his or her family and social environment and thus the obligation to respond to the employer’s calls is less likely to interfere with the possibility to freely manage the time during which professional services are not required (134).
Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.