Traditionally, people wanting to be driven from A to B could hail a cab on the street. Subsequently, cabs could be hailed by telephoning for one. Now it is possible to use a smartphone to organise an ‘electronic hail’. However, if the smartphone uses Uber’s software, then the car that comes to pick them up will not be a licensed taxi. The question is: can Uber’s new software destroy the old order of labour that governs the life of a taxi-driver, a legal order characterised by the state-licensing of taxi cabs?
Continue readingCategory Archives: Labour law
Case C-188/15, Bougnaoui – wearing an Islamic headscarf in the information society
If a client of an IT company does not want any employee from that IT company who wears a headscarf, then can that IT company freely sack any of its employees who wear an Islamic headscarf without this being discrimination?
Continue readingCase C-328/13, Österreichischer Gewerkschaftsbund – in the wake of collective agreements
Can the EU’s transfer of undertakings Directive 2001/23 be relied upon to stop workers becoming seriously worse off when a parent-company decides that the terms and conditions of its employees will no longer be governed by the collective agreement that binds the parent-company but by the collective agreement that binds a daughter-company?
Continue readingCase C-316/13, Fenoll – it is no holiday in a French work rehabilitation centre
Where a handicapped person is placed with a French work rehabilitation centre in order to facilitate his integration into society and to ensure that he flourishes on the labour market, must he work and follow the labour-market courses but without accruing any rights to paid annual leave? Or would that be contrary to the EU’s working time Directive 2003/88?
Continue readingCase C-201/13, Johan Deckmyn – parody in EU law
Belgium has a tradition of creating comic book figures. Tintin is perhaps the most famous comic book character but another popular comic strip chronicles the adventures of ‘Spike and Suzy’ [Suske and Wiske]. Comic books can be protected by copyright. In this reference, the issue is whether the right holders can stop a political party from circulating a picture that spoofs the cover of a Spike and Suzy story.
Continue readingCase C-458/12, Lorenzo Amatori – transfer of undertakings and Telecom Italia
For the purposes of the EU’s transfer of undertakings Directive 2001/23 is there a transfer of a part of an undertaking where, at the time of the transfer, the part which was transferred could hardly have been said to be functionally autonomous; and where, even 8 months after the transfer, that part was making no profit for the transferee and the losses were being borne by the transferor?
Continue readingCase C-311/12, Kassner – does EU law stop the social partners eroding paid annual leave?
French farmers have been nipping over the Spanish border to go shopping for their veterinary medicinal products. This is not allowed under French law, only French-authorised wholesalers can import veterinary drugs. The French farmers wonder if the internal market exists.
Continue readingCase C-194/12, Maestre García – checking out where annual leave coincides with sick leave
For the purposes of Article 7 of the working time Directive 2003/88/EC, does a worker, who is on sick leave during a period of annual leave fixed by the company, have the right to take his annual leave at another period?
Continue readingCase C-176/12, Association de médiation sociale – who counts as a member of staff?
Once a firm has a certain number of staff, Directive 2002/14 requires companies to establish bodies for informing and consulting employees. However, do apprentices and other people being reintegrated onto the labour market count as staff?
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