Pub Date : 2024-04-01DOI: 10.1177/20319525241243354
Martin Gruber-Risak, Sascha Obrecht
This contribution looks at the status of volunteers in EU labour law taking into account the criteria of the CJEU's Lawrie-Blum formula. It demonstrates, in light of the jurisprudence of the Court, that some criteria may be problematic and that a purposive approach may provide adequate solutions.
{"title":"Under what conditions do volunteers escape being qualified as workers?","authors":"Martin Gruber-Risak, Sascha Obrecht","doi":"10.1177/20319525241243354","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525241243354","url":null,"abstract":"This contribution looks at the status of volunteers in EU labour law taking into account the criteria of the CJEU's Lawrie-Blum formula. It demonstrates, in light of the jurisprudence of the Court, that some criteria may be problematic and that a purposive approach may provide adequate solutions.","PeriodicalId":41157,"journal":{"name":"European Labour Law Journal","volume":"59 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140575439","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-01DOI: 10.1177/20319525241242903
Christina Hiessl
This contribution provides a structural analysis of the case law of national courts in the EU, EEA and UK confronted with questions on the classification of volunteers. It explores the criteria and rationales used by courts to decide whether workers hired as volunteers should be reclassified as employees. These are put into perspective by reference to more recent evolutions of court approaches to employee status, particularly in the context of the platform economy. Given the societal relevance of voluntary work, a particular focus lies on the question of whether the operation of volunteer organisations might face challenges due to the tendency to broadening the concept of worker.
{"title":"The legal classification of volunteers: A cross-European case law comparison","authors":"Christina Hiessl","doi":"10.1177/20319525241242903","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525241242903","url":null,"abstract":"This contribution provides a structural analysis of the case law of national courts in the EU, EEA and UK confronted with questions on the classification of volunteers. It explores the criteria and rationales used by courts to decide whether workers hired as volunteers should be reclassified as employees. These are put into perspective by reference to more recent evolutions of court approaches to employee status, particularly in the context of the platform economy. Given the societal relevance of voluntary work, a particular focus lies on the question of whether the operation of volunteer organisations might face challenges due to the tendency to broadening the concept of worker.","PeriodicalId":41157,"journal":{"name":"European Labour Law Journal","volume":"11 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140575179","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-04-01DOI: 10.1177/20319525241242897
Luca Ratti
The demarcation of the personal scope of application of EU labour law results from the interplay between national legislation and the CJEU case law. This article analyses the particular case of socially useful workers in the Italian legal system and questions its compliance with EU law. It does so by exploring an intricate legal framework and the relevant interpretation by domestic and European adjudicators.
{"title":"Voluntary work in the Italian experience: the curious case of ‘socially useful workers’","authors":"Luca Ratti","doi":"10.1177/20319525241242897","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525241242897","url":null,"abstract":"The demarcation of the personal scope of application of EU labour law results from the interplay between national legislation and the CJEU case law. This article analyses the particular case of socially useful workers in the Italian legal system and questions its compliance with EU law. It does so by exploring an intricate legal framework and the relevant interpretation by domestic and European adjudicators.","PeriodicalId":41157,"journal":{"name":"European Labour Law Journal","volume":"82 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140575178","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-22DOI: 10.1177/20319525241239632
Fife Ogunde
Algorithmic management, though less attention-grabbing than total job automation, is expected to become even more influential and powerful over time. The realities of algorithmic management have gained increasing scholarly attention over the last decade, particularly in the context of employment relationships in the platform economy. This article contributes to existing scholarship by comparing two important pieces of legislation impacting algorithmic management in the platform economy: Ontario's Digital Workers’ Rights Act 2022 (‘the Act’) and the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Improving Conditions in Platform Work (‘the Directive’). The thrust of this article is that while the general tenor of the Act indicates a step in the right direction, its restrictive approach to information rights limits its overall effectiveness in regulating algorithmic management of platform workers.
{"title":"Algorithmic management of platform workers: An examination of the Canadian and European approaches to regulation","authors":"Fife Ogunde","doi":"10.1177/20319525241239632","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525241239632","url":null,"abstract":"Algorithmic management, though less attention-grabbing than total job automation, is expected to become even more influential and powerful over time. The realities of algorithmic management have gained increasing scholarly attention over the last decade, particularly in the context of employment relationships in the platform economy. This article contributes to existing scholarship by comparing two important pieces of legislation impacting algorithmic management in the platform economy: Ontario's Digital Workers’ Rights Act 2022 (‘the Act’) and the Proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and of the Council on Improving Conditions in Platform Work (‘the Directive’). The thrust of this article is that while the general tenor of the Act indicates a step in the right direction, its restrictive approach to information rights limits its overall effectiveness in regulating algorithmic management of platform workers.","PeriodicalId":41157,"journal":{"name":"European Labour Law Journal","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-03-22","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140203448","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-03-21DOI: 10.1177/20319525241239283
Samantha Velluti
Growing concerns over labour standards and workers’ rights in global supply chains (GSCs) have led many companies to adopt codes of conduct (CoCs) as part of increasing attempts to self-regulate through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) instruments to promote international labour standards in suppliers’ factories. However, improvements in labour standards and the level of protection of workers’ rights in GSCs are unsatisfactory, the garment industry labour force being a case in point. At European Union (EU) level this has led to the adoption of an EU corporate sustainability package in addition to previously adopted sector-specific/thematic due diligence legislation. This article looks closely at selected labour standards and labour rights aspects of the EU proposed Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence (CSDD) and evaluates its contribution to the improvement of workers’ rights protection in global garment supply chains.
{"title":"Labour standards in global garment supply chains and the proposed EU corporate sustainability due diligence directive","authors":"Samantha Velluti","doi":"10.1177/20319525241239283","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525241239283","url":null,"abstract":"Growing concerns over labour standards and workers’ rights in global supply chains (GSCs) have led many companies to adopt codes of conduct (CoCs) as part of increasing attempts to self-regulate through Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) instruments to promote international labour standards in suppliers’ factories. However, improvements in labour standards and the level of protection of workers’ rights in GSCs are unsatisfactory, the garment industry labour force being a case in point. At European Union (EU) level this has led to the adoption of an EU corporate sustainability package in addition to previously adopted sector-specific/thematic due diligence legislation. This article looks closely at selected labour standards and labour rights aspects of the EU proposed Directive on corporate sustainability due diligence (CSDD) and evaluates its contribution to the improvement of workers’ rights protection in global garment supply chains.","PeriodicalId":41157,"journal":{"name":"European Labour Law Journal","volume":"39 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140203865","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-27DOI: 10.1177/20319525241234434
Natalie Videbæk Munkholm
The article analyses the CJEU ruling C-311/21 TimePartner, where the Court interpreted the option provided in the Temporary Agency Work Directive for social partners to derogate from the principle of equal treatment. The CJEU concluded that the term ‘while respecting the overall protection of temporary agency workers’ is a criterion for using the option to derogate, and that a derogating collective agreement must be subject to legal review of fulfilling this criterion, even in Member States where collective agreements are presumed to be correct. Furthermore, the CJEU ruled that in order to respect the overall protection, any disadvantages in basic working conditions, i.e., working time and pay, should be set off against other advantages relating to the basic working conditions for the temporary agency workers. Finally, that the assessment is an in concreto comparison of disadvantages and advantages in terms of the basic working conditions applicable at the specific user undertaking. The article argues that the CJEU, with this approach, at the same time restricts the room for negotiation of national social partners concluding derogating agreements, and directs the legal review of the national judiciaries. This approach may interfere in the national industrial relations systems in some Member States more than others. The article then discusses how the Danish legal framework respects the overall protection of temporary agency workers. Temporary agency workers are addressed in many collective agreements in force at user undertakings with a view to counteracting circumvention of the collective agreement, and likewise, many temporary work agencies are covered by collective agreements. The transposition process in 2013 of the option to derogate is presented. The Danish Supreme Court in 2019 ruled, that the term ‘respecting the overall protection’ in the derogation provision in the Danish Temporary Agency Workers Act constitutes a legal criterion, which can be subject to judicial review, and is not an automatic consequence of a collective agreement. The article discusses how an assessment of the level of protection would be carried out in Danish industrial judiciaries, taking inspiration from earlier industrial case law comparing the overall protection of competing collective agreements. The article finally asserts that the approach of the CJEU in the TimePartner ruling protects temporary agency workers rather than pursuing flexibility in the labour markets, and as such favours one of the dual aims of the Directive. In that light, the approach taken by the CJEU ensures that derogating collective agreements meet certain standards in terms of the basic working conditions of temporary agency workers. At the same time, the ruling does not interfere with other negotiated or legislated working conditions, where the TAW Directive does not in itself require equal treatment or ‘overall protection’. The limitation of the TAW Directive to concern equal treatment on
{"title":"The ‘overall protection’ of temporary agency workers, the role of social partners, and the case of Denmark","authors":"Natalie Videbæk Munkholm","doi":"10.1177/20319525241234434","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525241234434","url":null,"abstract":"The article analyses the CJEU ruling C-311/21 TimePartner, where the Court interpreted the option provided in the Temporary Agency Work Directive for social partners to derogate from the principle of equal treatment. The CJEU concluded that the term ‘while respecting the overall protection of temporary agency workers’ is a criterion for using the option to derogate, and that a derogating collective agreement must be subject to legal review of fulfilling this criterion, even in Member States where collective agreements are presumed to be correct. Furthermore, the CJEU ruled that in order to respect the overall protection, any disadvantages in basic working conditions, i.e., working time and pay, should be set off against other advantages relating to the basic working conditions for the temporary agency workers. Finally, that the assessment is an in concreto comparison of disadvantages and advantages in terms of the basic working conditions applicable at the specific user undertaking. The article argues that the CJEU, with this approach, at the same time restricts the room for negotiation of national social partners concluding derogating agreements, and directs the legal review of the national judiciaries. This approach may interfere in the national industrial relations systems in some Member States more than others. The article then discusses how the Danish legal framework respects the overall protection of temporary agency workers. Temporary agency workers are addressed in many collective agreements in force at user undertakings with a view to counteracting circumvention of the collective agreement, and likewise, many temporary work agencies are covered by collective agreements. The transposition process in 2013 of the option to derogate is presented. The Danish Supreme Court in 2019 ruled, that the term ‘respecting the overall protection’ in the derogation provision in the Danish Temporary Agency Workers Act constitutes a legal criterion, which can be subject to judicial review, and is not an automatic consequence of a collective agreement. The article discusses how an assessment of the level of protection would be carried out in Danish industrial judiciaries, taking inspiration from earlier industrial case law comparing the overall protection of competing collective agreements. The article finally asserts that the approach of the CJEU in the TimePartner ruling protects temporary agency workers rather than pursuing flexibility in the labour markets, and as such favours one of the dual aims of the Directive. In that light, the approach taken by the CJEU ensures that derogating collective agreements meet certain standards in terms of the basic working conditions of temporary agency workers. At the same time, the ruling does not interfere with other negotiated or legislated working conditions, where the TAW Directive does not in itself require equal treatment or ‘overall protection’. The limitation of the TAW Directive to concern equal treatment on","PeriodicalId":41157,"journal":{"name":"European Labour Law Journal","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140025230","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-26DOI: 10.1177/20319525241228979
Michael Wilderspin
The notion of the place (or country) in or from which the employee habitually carries out his or her work in performance of the contract of employment plays an important role in determining the allocation of international jurisdiction and the law applicable to the employment contract in the case of international transport. The CJEU has interpreted the notion of ‘where, or from where, the employee habitually carries out his or her work’ very broadly, concomitantly reducing the scope of the ‘engaging place of business’ criterion. This article shows the evolution of CJEU case law and its contribution to the development of the notion of habitual workplace in the field of international transport.
{"title":"The contribution of the CJEU to the notion of habitual workplace in the field of international transport","authors":"Michael Wilderspin","doi":"10.1177/20319525241228979","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525241228979","url":null,"abstract":"The notion of the place (or country) in or from which the employee habitually carries out his or her work in performance of the contract of employment plays an important role in determining the allocation of international jurisdiction and the law applicable to the employment contract in the case of international transport. The CJEU has interpreted the notion of ‘where, or from where, the employee habitually carries out his or her work’ very broadly, concomitantly reducing the scope of the ‘engaging place of business’ criterion. This article shows the evolution of CJEU case law and its contribution to the development of the notion of habitual workplace in the field of international transport.","PeriodicalId":41157,"journal":{"name":"European Labour Law Journal","volume":"256 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-26","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139977213","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-24DOI: 10.1177/20319525241227400
Gerrard C. Boot
A Dutch court has interpreted the national implementation of Art. 13 of the Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions, finding in favour of a high level of protection of workers against employers’ claims for training cost compensation.
{"title":"Broad application of the training cost rule in the netherlands","authors":"Gerrard C. Boot","doi":"10.1177/20319525241227400","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525241227400","url":null,"abstract":"A Dutch court has interpreted the national implementation of Art. 13 of the Directive on Transparent and Predictable Working Conditions, finding in favour of a high level of protection of workers against employers’ claims for training cost compensation.","PeriodicalId":41157,"journal":{"name":"European Labour Law Journal","volume":"44 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139954830","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-02-20DOI: 10.1177/20319525241227837
Daniel Ulber
This article critically examines the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) decision in the TimePartner case and its implications for labour market integration in the context of temporary agency work. The author supports the ECJ's position on the rule-exception relationship within Directive 2008/104/EC, emphasising equal treatment for temporary agency workers. The analysis explores the alignment between the ECJ's approach and the Directive's goal of creating a non-discriminatory, transparent, and proportionate framework for worker protection. Within the German legal landscape, where there has been reluctance to implement the Directive, complex collective agreements have led to substantial remuneration disparities between regular employees and temporary agency workers. The absence of statutory regulations on overall protection for temporary agency workers, coupled with reluctance on the part of courts to intervene in collective agreements, presents challenges for labour market integration. The article also addresses the assumption of an inherent warranted correctness of collective agreements and its potential implications for EU law enforcement, recognising this may limit the judicial review of collective agreements for compliance with EU Directives, potentially undermining EU law effectiveness. In conclusion, this analysis sheds light on the consequences of the ECJ's TimePartner case decision, particularly in Germany, and suggests the need for more detailed, industry-specific collective agreements to better meet the Directive's requirements.
{"title":"The Role of the Social Partners and the ‘Overall protection of temporary agency workers’: The ECJ decision in the TimePartner case and the legal and actual situation in Germany","authors":"Daniel Ulber","doi":"10.1177/20319525241227837","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525241227837","url":null,"abstract":"This article critically examines the European Court of Justice's (ECJ) decision in the TimePartner case and its implications for labour market integration in the context of temporary agency work. The author supports the ECJ's position on the rule-exception relationship within Directive 2008/104/EC, emphasising equal treatment for temporary agency workers. The analysis explores the alignment between the ECJ's approach and the Directive's goal of creating a non-discriminatory, transparent, and proportionate framework for worker protection. Within the German legal landscape, where there has been reluctance to implement the Directive, complex collective agreements have led to substantial remuneration disparities between regular employees and temporary agency workers. The absence of statutory regulations on overall protection for temporary agency workers, coupled with reluctance on the part of courts to intervene in collective agreements, presents challenges for labour market integration. The article also addresses the assumption of an inherent warranted correctness of collective agreements and its potential implications for EU law enforcement, recognising this may limit the judicial review of collective agreements for compliance with EU Directives, potentially undermining EU law effectiveness. In conclusion, this analysis sheds light on the consequences of the ECJ's TimePartner case decision, particularly in Germany, and suggests the need for more detailed, industry-specific collective agreements to better meet the Directive's requirements.","PeriodicalId":41157,"journal":{"name":"European Labour Law Journal","volume":"17 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-02-20","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139954825","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2024-01-31DOI: 10.1177/20319525241227838
Uglješa Grušić
This article is a revised version of a concept paper written for the European Commission on the private international law regulation of individual employment relationships within the EU. It aims to assess the regulation of such relationships from the perspective of European private international law and indicate potential avenues for reform.
{"title":"Private international law regulation of individual employment relationships within the european union","authors":"Uglješa Grušić","doi":"10.1177/20319525241227838","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1177/20319525241227838","url":null,"abstract":"This article is a revised version of a concept paper written for the European Commission on the private international law regulation of individual employment relationships within the EU. It aims to assess the regulation of such relationships from the perspective of European private international law and indicate potential avenues for reform.","PeriodicalId":41157,"journal":{"name":"European Labour Law Journal","volume":"34 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.7,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139954804","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}