§2 Application of the Directive in case of concurrent contracts

The Working Time Directive establishes minimum requirements for ‘workers’. However, it does not explicitly state whether its provisions set absolute limits in case of concurrent contracts with one or more employer(s) or if they apply to each employment relationship separately. The Court clarified that when workers have concluded several contracts of employment with the same employer, the minimum daily rest period applies to those contracts taken as a whole, and not to each of them separately (50). However, the Court has not yet had to rule on the case of workers who have concluded several contracts of employment with different employers. As indicated in previous reports (51), the Commission considers that, in the light of the Directive’s objective to improve the health and safety of workers, the limits on average weekly working time and daily and weekly rest should as far as possible, apply per worker. Taking into account the need to ensure that the health and safety objective of the Working Time Directive is given full effect, Member States’ legislation should provide for appropriate mechanisms for monitoring and enforcement. It can also be pointed out that, in line with the scope of the Directive presented above, the Directive does not apply to relationships in which the person does not qualify as a ‘worker’ under EU law. This for example means that the working time of ‘volunteers’ or ‘self-employed’ who do not qualify as ‘workers’ would not be covered by the Directive. Material scope – sectors concerned

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-07