Abstract
The article explains the concept of “worker” and its identification features following European Union labour law. EU legal acts that directly or indirectly interpret this term are analyzed. For example, some EU directives point to the need to refer to national law to interpret the term “worker”, while others interpret it independently. Such an interpretation will be different because of the purpose of the directives, which are enshrined and conditioned by the various EU social policy objectives within which a relevant legal act is adopted. The characteristics of this concept, which were argued by the Court of the European Union, are clarified. It is noted that there is no single approach to defining the term “worker” in the European Union. Moreover, its interpretation may vary depending on the scope. The EU Court has held that any person is a worker if she/he performs work for remuneration and under the control of another person, the content of which is not determined by that person independently, regardless of the basis of the employment relationship. The EU Court also advises national courts to assess the scale and importance of employment in the context of employee identification. All in all, only those who work effectively and really can obtain employee status, except for activities on such a small scale that they should be regarded as minor and exclusively supportive. That is why, when deciding to confirm employee status, national courts must assess all the factual circumstances that characterize employment, as well as the elements of the legal relationship that arose between the parties to the dispute. It is emphasized that the interpretation of the concept of “worker” at the EU level depends on the content and scope of the rights and obligations of the subjects of the employment relationship. There is a tendency to unify the concept of “worker”, which is traced in the case-law of the EU Court concerning both primary and secondary law. The threats that can be triggered by establishing a universal definition of the term “worker” are analyzed. On the one hand, a unified concept will promote a uniform application of EU law and will not allow the Member States to manipulate national interpretations with legal exceptions to this concept. At the same time, the communitarian concept of “worker” may restrict access to labour guarantees for persons who are in similar employment relationships, but will not be considered to be due to a narrow interpretation of the term. It is emphasized that the supranational concept of “worker” will help to remove obstacles to the full realization of freedom of movement for employment. The article deals with subordination, remuneration, effective and genuine work as criteria that collectively identify a person as a hired worker.
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