Free Movement of People: Workers Flashcards
(146 cards)
Article 45 TFEU?
- Freedom of movement for workers shall be secured within the Union.
- Such freedom of movement shall entail the abolition of any discrimination based on nationality between workers of the Member States as regards employment, remuneration and other conditions of work and employment.
- It shall entail the right, subject to limitations justified on grounds of public policy, public security or public health:
a) to accept offers of employment actually made;
b) to move freely within the territory of Member States for this purpose;
c) to stay in a Member State for the purpose of employment in accordance with the provisions governing the employment of nationals of that State laid down by law, regulation or administrative action;
d) to remain in the territory of a Member State after having been employed in that State, subject to conditions which shall be embodied in implementing regulations to be drawn up by the Commission. - The provisions of this article shall not apply to employment in the public service.
Definition of Worker
The court’s interpretation of ‘worker’ in Art 45(1) is broad. Workers are people under a relationship of subordination of the employer, who are engaged in a genuine and effective economic activity (i.e. thereby excluding activities carried out on such small scale as to be purely marginal and ancillary). Part-time workers are generally considered as workers.
Lawrie-Blum definition of workers
German measures restricted access for non-nationals to the preparatory service stage necessary for qualification as a secondary school teacher. Was a trainee teacher a worker?
Held: the essential feature of an employment relationship is that for a certain period of time a person performs services for and under the direction of another in return for which he receives remuneration. A trainer teacher was a worker under Art 45(1). Commentary: the three conditions can be summarised as:
i) Performs service of economic value
ii) Under the direction of another
iii) Receives remuneration in return
Meeusen [1999] on definition of worker
employment requires provision of services within “relationship of subordination”
Steymann [1988]
German national lived in the Netherlands and worked there as a plumber. He joined the Bhagwan Community (religious community) and performed plumbing work and general household duties on the community’s premises. He applied for a residence permit to pursue an activity as an employed person. This was rejected.
ECJ Held: such work was important in the way of life of the Bhagwan Community, which in turn provides for the material needs of its members. Here it is impossible to rule out a priori the possibility that S’s work constitutes an economic activity. Commentary: the fact that the work might be seen in conventional terms as being unpaid did not mean that it was not effective economic activity!
Brown [1988]
B had dual nationality. He relied on his French nationality in the UK and worked for 9 months in Scotland as a form of ‘pre-university training’, before studying at Cambridge.
ECJ Held: B was a worker and satisfied the three Lawrie-Blum requirements, but he was not entitled to all the social advantages because his employment was merely ancillary to his desired course of study. Commentary: Craig: this decision prevents the abuse of the Art 45 provisions.
Bettray [1989]
(rehab) B was undertaking therapeutic work as part of a drug-rehab programme under Dutch social employment law.
Held: paid activity provided by the state as part of a drug rehabilitation programme did NOT represent a genuine and effective economic activity since the work was designed for those who could not take up work under normal conditions and was tailored to an individual’s’ need and was intended to reintegrate them into the employment market. Activities cannot be regarded as a real and genuine economic activity if they constitute merely a means of rehabilitation or reintegration for the persons concerned.
Commentary: Craig: this demonstrates that the purpose of the work was a consideration for the courts! Rather than meet a genuine economic need, the sole purpose of the work here is to rehabilitate the person.
Trojani [2004]
T worked for and was under direction of a Salvation Army hostel for about 30 hours a week as part of a programme which integrates individuals to the labour market.
Held: whether this was a real and genuine paid activity is for the national court to decide. The national court must in particular ascertain whether the services actually performed by T are capable of being regarded as forming part of the normal labour market. For that purpose, account may be taken of the status and practices of the hostel, the content of the social reintegration programme, and the nature and details of performance of the services. There was existence of the constituent elements of any paid employment relationship, namely subordination and the payment of remuneration.
Levin [1982]
(part-time) L (British) argued that she had sufficient income for her family’s maintenance and applied for a residence permit. L had taken up part-time employment as a chambermaid, but her employment did not provide sufficient means for her support, not being equal at least to the minimum wage prevailing in the Netherlands.
Held: a British woman working part-time as a chambermaid could be a worker even though she earned less than a subsistence wage, since the part-time work constituted an effectives means of improving her living conditions. The effectiveness of EU law would be impaired if the enjoyment of rights conferred by the principle of freedom of movement for workers were reserved solely to persons engaged in full-time employment and earning, as a result, a wage at least equivalent to the minimum wage. This is because part-time employment constitutes for a large number of persons an effective means of improving their living conditions.
Commentary: Craig: the freedom to take up employment is important also because it is a right for the worker to raise his living standard. The purpose or motive of L is immaterial.
Kempf [1986]
a part-time music teacher’s income was supplemented by social security benefits. ECJ Held: a worker’s work cannot be on such a small scale as to be purely marginal and ancillary. However, K’s work is NOT marginal or ancillary, even though his income had to be supplemented by the benefits. Once a finding of effective and genuine employment had been made, it was irrelevant whether K subsisted on his earnings or whether his pay was used to add to other family income or was supplemented by public funds.
Raulin [1992]
An on-call worker who is not guaranteed any work could be a worker, but it is up to the national court to make the final decision as to who is a worker. Even if number of hours worked is relatively small or only worked for a short period, he can still be a worker.
Vatsouras [2009]
a brief minor professional activity engaged by V did not ‘ensure him a livelihood’.
Held: independently of the limited amount of remuneration and the short duration of the professional activity, it cannot be ruled out that the professional activity may be considered as real and genuine, and thereby conferring on the holder the ‘worker’ status
Those seeking work
The definition of workers has been extended to cover those seeking work. They must be given at least 3 months to look for work, and cannot be removed if they are continuing to see employment and have a genuine chance of being engaged.
Antonissen [1991]
the Belgian migrants in the UK had 6 months to look for work.
Held: A period of 6 months, does not appear in principle to be insufficient to enable the persons concerned to apprise themselves, in the host Member State, of offers of employment corresponding to their occupational qualifications and to take, where appropriate, the necessary steps in order to be engaged and, therefore, does not jeopardize the effectiveness of the principle of free movement. If after the 6-month period, the work-seekers can show that they have a genuine chance of being employed, they cannot be required to leave that host MS. The Art 45(3) freedom entails the right for nationals of MSs to stay there for the purposes of seeking employment.
Commentary: this has been confirmed by Directive 2004/38 (CRD) which makes clear that Union citizens cannot be expelled as long as they can show that they are continuing to see employment and have a genuine chance of being engaged. Craig: this is the court’s purposive approach in the interpretation of Art 45.1
Can employers invoke Art 45?
Yes - Clean Car Autoservice [1998] — right of workers to be employed in another Member State necessarily entails right of employers to engage workers in accordance with Treaty Article 45 TFEU may therefore be invoked not only by workers but also by employers, e.g. to challenge provisions of national law which discriminate against foreigners in recruitment process
Are the provisions of Art 45 directly effective?
Yes, per Van Duyn
Are the provisions of Art 45 horizontally directly effective?
Walrave and Koch [1974]
the rules made by the cycling sporting association (NOT a public or state body) were challenged.
Held: Art 45 would apply even when the work was done outside the community, as long as the legal relationship of employment was entered within the Community. Prohibition of such discrimination does not only apply to the action of public authorities, but extends likewise to rules of any other nature aimed at regulating in a collective manner gainful employment and the provision of services.
Are the provisions of Art 45 horizontally directly effective?
Bosman [1995]
the rules made by the football sporting association (NOT a public or state body) were challenged. Held: extended the horizontal direct effect to include private employers
Are the provisions of Art 45 horizontally directly effective?
Angonese [2000]
A (Italian) spoke German as his mother tongue. He applied to take part in a competition for a post in a bank in Bolzano. A condition for entry to the competition was a certificate of bilingualism in Italian and German. The certificate was issued by Bolzano authorities after an exam held only in that province. A did not obtain the certificate and the bank rejected him for the post. A argued that the certificate requirement was contrary to Art 45.
ECJ Held: (reaffirming the horizontal effect of Art 45 provisions in Walrave) the prohibition of discrimination on grounds of nationality laid down in Art 45 must be regarded as applying to private persons as well! To require the local certificate has the same effect of discrimination (indirect discrimination). There is a cross-border element (i.e. movement) as he studied elsewhere.
Commentary: Eeckhout: It is not clear whether the horizontal effect of Art 45 goes further than the prohibition of such discrimination.
What rights to workers have per Art 45?
a) To accept offers of employment actually made;
b) To move freely within the territory of Member States for this purpose;
c) To stay in a Member State for the purpose of employment in accordance with the provisions governing the employment of nationals of that State laid down by law, regulation or administrative action;
d) To remain in the territory of a Member State after having been employed in that State, subject to conditions which shall be embodied in implementing regulations to be drawn up by the Commission.
What rights do workers have per Regulation 492/11?
Chapter I, Section I: the right of access to a post on non-discriminatory terms
Chapter I, Section II: the right to equal treatment while doing that job
What rights do workers have per Art 24(1) CRD 2004/38?
basic principle of equal treatment
Discrimination, direct or indirect, clearly offends Art 45, the Regulation and the CRD
Direct Discrimination against workers
Direct discrimination focuses on the aim of the measure. Measures are directly discriminatory where the migrant worker is treated less favourably than the national worker. They can be justified only by express Treaty derogations.
Example of direct discrimination against worker
Commission v France (French Seamen) [1974]
A French rule required a ratio of three French seamen to one non-French seaman on a merchant ship. ECJ
Held: this contravened Art 4(1) of Regulation 492/11, which provides that provisions which restrict by number or percentage the employment of foreign nationals in any undertaking do NOT apply to nationals of other MSs. Other EU nationals are treated less favourably than the French nationals. Art 45 was ‘directly applicable’ and would render inapplicable all contrary national law.
Commentary: However, the Regs does allow the employer to require the migrant worker to take a vocational test.