- Date:
- 16 Jan 2014
In a case from Italy, the EU Court recently ruled that non-compliance with the rules on fixed-term employment is not comparable with a situation where an employee on an indefinite contract is dismissed
In a case from Italy, the EU Court recently ruled that non-compliance with the rules on fixed-term employment is not comparable with a situation where an employee on an indefinite contract is dismissed.
Employers are not allowed to treat employees on a fixed-term contract less favourably with regard to employment terms and conditions than employees on an indefinite contract. This principle follows from the directive-based Danish Fixed-Term Employment Act. But does this mean that the compensation available for an employer's non-compliance with the Act should be measured according to the same principles as the compensation available for unfair dismissal of an employee on an indefinite contract? That question was addressed by the EU Court in an Italian case.
The case concerned an employee who was employed on a fixed-term contract for the summer period. When the fixed term ended, the employee protested, demanding that the contract should be continued as an indefinite contract under Italian law. The employer maintained that the fixed-term contract met the statutory requirements, and the case then ended up before an Italian court. The employee claimed compensation for loss of earnings and for the employer's non-compliance with the rules.
The employee believed that it was contrary to the principle of equal treatment that the maximum compensation for non-compliance with the rules on fixed-term employment was lower than the compensation available for unfair dismissal of an employee on an indefinite contract. The Italian court decided to refer this question to the EU Court for a preliminary ruling.
The EU Court concluded that there is no requirement in EU law for the compensation available for non-compliance with the rules on fixed-term employment to be measured according to the same principles as the compensation available for unfair dismissal. The compensation available for non-compliance with the rules on fixed-term employment relates to an illegal term of employment and is thus covered by the Framework Agreement on Fixed-Term Work, but the EU Court ruled that the compensation available in the two situations is not comparable as one of them relates to circumstances on recruitment and the other to the dismissal situation.
Norrbom Vinding notes
- that the EU Court's ruling on the questions shows that the principle of equal treatment of employees on a fixed-term contract does not mean that the compensation available to an employee on a fixed-term contract for the employer's non-compliance with the Danish Fixed-Term Employment Act is to be measured according to the same principles as an award for unfair dismissal.
