§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. Derogations requiring equivalent compensatory rest or appropriate protection Article 17(3) provides for exceptions to Articles 3 (daily rest), 4 (breaks), 5 (weekly rest period), 8 (length of night work) and 16 (reference periods) in the case of certain activities. Similarly, Article 17(4) provides for derogations to Articles 3 and 5. Article 18 provides for derogations from Articles 3, 4, 5, 8 and 16 by collective agreement. All other provisions of the Directive continue to apply. All of these derogations are, however, subject to the condition set out in Article 17(2) (and in Article 18), i.e. ‘that the workers concerned are afforded equivalent compensatory rest or that, in exceptional cases in which it is not possible, for objective reasons, to grant such equivalent periods of compensatory rest, the workers concerned are afforded appropriate protection’ (379).

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