Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2014:2392
Date: 2014-11-20
Language of the case: Finnish
Subject matter: Social Policy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Finland

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Grand Chamber), 17 March 2015 Social policy — Temporary agency work — Directive 2008/104 — Prohibitions or restrictions on the use of temporary agency work — Justification — Grounds of general interest — Obligation to review — Scope (European Parliament and Council Directive 2008/104, Art. 4(1)) Article 4(1) of Directive 2008/104/EC on temporary agency work must be interpreted as meaning that: – the provision is addressed only to the competent authorities of the Member States, imposing on them an obligation to review in order to ensure that any potential prohibitions or restrictions on the use of temporary agency work are justified, and, therefore, – the provision does not impose an obligation on national courts not to apply any rule of national law containing prohibitions or restrictions on the use of temporary agency work which are not justified on grounds of general interest within the meaning of Article 4(1). As a result, the Member States are free either to remove any prohibitions and restrictions which could not be justified under Article 4(1) of Directive 2008/104 or to adapt them so that they can, where appropriate, be justified under that provision. (see paras 30, 32, operative part)