Community midwives' work time includes travel to and from home

The European Union (EU) introduced a working time directive in 1993 (Council Directive 93/104/EC) that was implemented in the United Kingdom Law by the Working Time Regulations 1998. The regulations apply to midwives and give them general rights that include;

The latest working time directive (Directive 2003/88/EC 2003) defines working time as any period during which the midwife is working at the employer's disposal and carrying out their activity or duties, in accordance with national laws and/or practice. Any period which is not working time is regarded as a rest period. This means that work includes:

While time spent travelling between the homes of the women and babies in their care has always been considered part of a community midwife's working day, the time spent travelling from home to the first call of the day and back home from the last call were considered rest periods and were not part of the working day.