2. The consequences of the ‘autonomous workers’ derogation

So-called ‘autonomous workers’ remain within the scope of the Directive (only in very exceptional cases is exclusion permitted, see Chapter III. B. 2). As indicated above, the scope of this derogation is subject to the general principles of the protection of the safety and health of workers and limited to the provisions listed in Article 17(1): daily rest (Article 3); breaks (Article 4); weekly rest period (Article 5); maximum weekly working time (Article 6); the length of night work (Article 8); reference periods for the application, of the weekly rest period, the maximum weekly working time and the length of night work (Article 16). Article 17(1) does not specify any conditions for the derogations to these provisions. So it appears that autonomous workers are entirely excluded from them and are not entitled to compensatory rest, unlike workers falling under the derogations below. The workers concerned remain subject to all other Directive’s provisions.

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Source: EUR-Lex (Cellar) · retrieved 2026-09-25 · Text as adopted (Official Journal); later amendments are not incorporated in this text.