Rest periods in the light of EU law

Abstract

Workers’ right to minimum rest periods are a particularly important rule of EU social law, as set out in Article 31(2) of the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union. This study reviews the provisions on rest periods in EU law and how they have been interpreted by the Court of Justice of the European Union. After a general overview, the rules on the measure and schedule of rest periods are analysed, followed by an assessment of possible exceptions. The study then highlights three major problems of legal harmonisation in Hungarian law. First, the national rules on flexible working time schedule may be more realistic than the Court’s interpretation of the concept of autonomous worker, but there is still a conflict with EU law. Second, the possibility of extraordinary working time during the weekly rest period is liable to completely deprive the weekly rest period from its meaning, which should therefore be limited. Lastly, the rules on the aggregation of weekly rest periods are problematic not only because the working time directive and Hungarian law uses different terminology, but also because these rules allow continuous working without a rest day for very long periods.