However, where the employee was away from work but on call, it did not count as working time because the employee could to a large extent control what he did whilst on call. Short term contracts Under the UK legislation which implements the Working Time Directive, employees are not entitled to paid annual leave unless they have been continuously employed by the same employer for 13 weeks. In the 'Opinion' of the Advocate-General who advises the ECJ, short term workers cannot be excluded from the right to paid annual leave. They should also have payment in lieu of accrued leave entitlement in the event of premature termination of the employment. The Opinion is advisory and may not be matched by the final judgment which the ECJ has yet to deliver, and which will conclusively decide this question.
Overtime demands An employee in Germany was dismissed for refusing to work overtime.
He commenced an action because his contract of employment contained no requirement to undertake overtime. The ECJ concluded that, under EU law on employers' obligations to inform employees of the conditions applicable to the contract of employment, all the key requirements of an employment relationship must be put in writing. Readers should take professional advice before taking any action based on this bulletin.