Amended proposal for a Directive of the European Parliament and the Council on working conditions for temporary workers
Date: 2002-11-28
Institutions: European Commission
Subjects: EU law, labour flexibility, labour law, temporary employment, temporary employment agency, working conditions

COMMISSION OF THE EUROPEAN COMMUNITIES

Brussels, 28.11.2002
COM(2002) 701 final

2002/0072 (COD)

Amended proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

on working conditions for temporary workers

(presented by the Commission in accordance
with Article 250(2) of the EC Treaty)

EXPLANATORY MEMORANDUM

1.

INTRODUCTION

On  20  March  2002,  the  Commission  adopted  a  proposal  for  a  directive  of  the  European
Parliament and the Council on working conditions for temporary workers1. This proposal was
forwarded to the European Parliament and the Council on 21 March 2002.

On  19  September  2002,  the  Economic  and  Social  Committee  gave  its  opinion  on  the
Commission’s proposal2.

The European Parliament gave its opinion at the first reading on 21 November 20023.

2.

AMENDMENTS

A – The European Parliament’s amendments accepted by the Commission

The amended proposal contains two types of amendments; first, to reword the articles or add
new  provisions  in  the  interests  of  clarification  or  precision  and,  second,  to  amend  the
substance and scope of the text by including or deleting important provisions.

The Commission is prepared to accept, in part or in full,  all  the  amendments  set  out below,
which, it thinks, improve the proposal and maintain its aims and political viability:

–  amendment No 1 (changing the title of the directive): see title of the proposal;

–  amendment No 4 (rewording recital 4): see recital No 4;

–  amendment  No  6  (specifying  the  links  between  this  proposal  and  Directive  1999/70  of

28 June 1999 on fixed-term work): see recital No 7;

–  amendment No 15 (announcing proposed amendments to Article 5.1): see recital No 15;

–  amendment No 20 (announcing proposed amendments to Article 4): see recital No 19;

–  amendment No 22 (reinforcing the principle of subsidiarity): see recital No 22;

–  amendment No 23 (rewording the scope to illustrate more clearly the triangular nature of

temporary work): see Article 1.1;

–  amendment No 26 (reinforcing Article 2): see Article 2;

–  amendment No 27 (adding the definition of a temporary worker): see Article 3(1)(b);

–  amendment  No  28  (deleting  the  definition  of  a  comparable  worker):  deletion  of  this

definition in Article 3;

–  amendment No 29 (redefining a posting): see Article 3(1)(c);

1

2

3

COM(2002)149 in OJ C… of…, p.
OJ C of , p. .
OJ C of , p. .

2

                                                
–  amendment No 30 (adding the definition of a temporary agency): see Article 3(1)(d);

–  amendment No 31 (adding the definition of a user undertaking): see Article 3(1)(e);

–  amendment  No  32  (redefining  working  and  employment  conditions):  see  Article  3,(1)(f)

and Article 5(1) second indent;

–  amendment No 85 (specifying that it is up to the Member States to define pay): see Article

3(2);

–  amendment  No  33  (specifying  workers  who  cannot  be  excluded  from  the  scope  of  the

Directive): see Article 3(2);

–  amendment No 34 (extending the obligation on the Member States to review restrictions or
prohibitions  pertaining  only  to  certain  categories  of  workers  or  certain  branches  to  all
restrictions 
for
prohibitions/restrictions): see Article 4(1) and (2);

justifications 

prohibitions; 

extending 

scope 

the 

or 

of 

–  amendment  No  35  (specifying  that  the  provisions  in  force  concerning  registration  and
monitoring of temporary workers are not prohibitions or restrictions within the meaning of
the foregoing amendment): see Article 4(3);

–  amendment No 36 (adding a provision stipulating that temporary workers may not replace

striking workers in the user undertaking): see recital No 21;

–  amendment No 87 (acceptance of the part rewording the principle of non-discrimination):

see Article 5(1) first indent;

–  amendment No 86 (restricting the exemption to remuneration and requiring consultation of

the social partners): see Article 5(2);

–  amendment No 92 (acceptance of the part on prior consultation of the social partners and

enabling them to uphold existing collective agreements): see Article 5(3);

–  amendment  No  71  (acceptance  only  of  the  part  restricting  exemptions  to  pay):  see

Article 5(4);

–  amendment No 43 (deleting Article 5(5)): see deleted Article 5(5), previous version;

–  amendment  No  44  (specifying  that  implementation  of  Article  5  through  an  agreement

between the social partners should be in line with national practice): see Article 5(5);

–  amendment  No  46  (specifying  how  information  on  vacancies  may  be  made  public):  see

Article 6(1);

–  amendment No 47 (on clauses prohibiting the conclusion of contracts of employment): see

Article 6(2);

–  amendment No 48 (specifying the scope of the prohibition on fees): see Article 6(3);

–  amendment No 49 (specifying social services): see Article 6(4);

–  amendment No 51 (an addition to take account of the fact that workers' representation may

be determined by collective agreements): see Article 7;

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–  amendment No 52 (introducing a choice of the action open to workers — direct action or
action through representatives — if the Directive is not complied with): see Article 10.

B – The European Parliament’s amendments rejected by the Commission

By contrast, the Commission cannot accept at this  stage the other  amendments proposed  by
the Parliament.  Some  of  them  do  not  constitute  an  improvement  to  the  Directive  or  are  not
acceptable  from  a  strictly  legal  point  of  view.  Others  might,  in  the  Commission’s  view,
disrupt the balance of the initial text.

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2002/0072 (COD)

Amended proposal for a

DIRECTIVE OF THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL

on working conditions for temporary work

THE EUROPEAN PARLIAMENT AND THE COUNCIL OF THE EUROPEAN UNION,

Having  regard  to  the  Treaty  establishing  the  European  Community  and,  in  particular,
Article 137(2) thereof,

Having regard to the proposal from the Commission4,

Having regard to the opinion of the Economic and Social Committee5,

Having regard to the opinion of the Committee of the Regions6,

Acting in accordance with the procedure laid down in Article 251 of the Treaty7,

Whereas:

(1) 

This  instrument  respects  the  fundamental  rights  and  complies  with  the  principles
recognised by the Charter of Fundamental Rights of the European Union; in particular,
it is designed to ensure full compliance with Article 31 of that Charter, which provides
that every worker has the right to working conditions which respect his or her health,
safety and dignity and to restriction of maximum working hours, to daily and weekly
rest periods and to an annual period of paid leave.

(2)  Moreover,  point  7  of  the  Community  Charter  of  the  Fundamental  Social  Rights  of
Workers provides, inter alia, that the completion of the internal market must lead to an
improvement  in  the  living  and  working  conditions  of  workers  in  the  European
Community;  this  process  will  be  achieved  by  harmonising  progress  on  these
conditions,  mainly  by  forms  of  work  other  than  permanent  contracts  such  as  fixed-
term contract work, part-time work, temporary work and seasonal work.

(3) 

The conclusions of the European Council in Lisbon of 23 and 24 March 2000 set the
European Union a new strategic target, namely to “become the most competitive and
most dynamic knowledge-based economy in the world, capable of sustained economic
growth with more and better jobs and greater social cohesion”.

(4) 

In  accordance  with  the  European  Social  Agenda,  which,  on  the  basis  of  the
communication from the Commission, was adopted by the European Council in Nice

4

5

6

7

OJ C of , p. .
OJ C of , p. .
OJ C of , p. .
OJ C of , p. .

5

                                                
of  7,  8  and  9 December  2000,  with  the  conclusions  of  the  European  Council  in
Stockholm  of  23  and  24 March  2000  and  with  the  Council  Decision  of  19 January
2001  on  the  2001  employment  guidelines,  a  satisfactory  and  flexible  work
organisation system has to be put in place, with new flexible contracts including new
statutory flexibility arrangements, offering workers a fair degree of job security and
enhanced  occupational  status,  andwhich,  at  the  same  time,  is  compatible  with
reconciling workers’ aspirations and undertakings’ needs.

(5) 

(6) 

(7) 

(8) 

The  Commission  consulted  the  social  partners  on  the  course  of  action  that  could  be
adopted  at  Community  level  with  regard  to  flexibility  of  working  hours  and  job
security of workers on 27 September 1995.

After  that  consultation,  the  Commission  considered  that  Community  action  was
desirable and consulted the social partners once again with regard to the content of the
planned proposal on 9 April 1996.

In  the  introduction  to  the  framework  agreement  on  fixed-term  work  concluded  on
18 March 1999, the signatories had indicated their intention to consider the need for a
similar agreement on temporary work and not to include temporary workers in the
Directive on fixed-term work.

The  general  cross-sector  organisations,  i.e.  the  UNICE,  CEEP  and  ETUC,  informed
the  Commission  in  their  joint  letter  of  their  desire  to  implement  the  procedure
provided  for  by  Article  138(4)  of  the  EC  Treaty;  in  a  joint  letter  they  asked  the
Commission  for  an  extension  of  the  deadline  by  three  months;  the  Commission
granted this request by extending the negotiation deadline until 15 March 2001.

(9) 

On  21 May  2001,  the  social  partners  acknowledged  that  their  negotiations  on
temporary work had not produced any agreement.

(10)  There are considerable differences in the legal situation of temporary workers within

the Union.

(11)  Temporary work should meet undertakings’ needs for flexibility and employees’ need
to  reconcile  their  working  and  private  lives  and  contribute  to  job  creation  and  to
participation and integration in the labour market.

(12)  The aim of this Directive is to establish a protective framework for temporary workers
which also provides temporary agencies operating in the European Community with a
consistent  and  flexible  framework  which  is  conducive  to  their  activities,  without
imposing  any  administrative,  financial  or  legal  constraints  which  would  impede  the
creation and development of small and medium-sized undertakings.

(13)  This Directive shall be implemented in compliance with the Treaty,  specifically with
regard  to  freedom  to  provide  services  and  freedom  of  establishment  and  without
prejudice  to  Directive  96/71/EC  of  the  European  Parliament  and  the  Council  of
16 December  19968  concerning  the  posting  of  workers  in  the  framework  of  the
provision of services.

8

OJ L 18 of 21.1.1997, p. 1.

6

                                                
(14)  Directive  91/383/EEC  of  25 June  19919  supplementing  the  measures  to  encourage
improvements  in  the  safety  and  health  at  work  of  workers  with  a  fixed-duration
employment  relationship  or  a  temporary  employment  relationship  establishes  the
safety and health provisions applicable to temporary workers.

(15)  With  respect  to  The  basic  working  and  employment  conditions,  applicable  to
temporary workers should be at least those which would apply to such workers if
they  were  recruited  by  not  be  treated  any  less  favourably  than  a  “comparable
worker”, i.e. a worker in the user undertaking to occupy the same job in an identical
or similar job, taking into account seniority, qualifications and skills.

(16)      However,  differences  in  treatment  are  acceptable  if  they  are  objectively  and

reasonably justified by a legitimate aim.

(16) 

(17) 

In  the  case  of  workers  who  have  a  permanent  contract  with  their  temporary  agency,
and in view of the special protection such a contract offers, provision should be made
to permit exemptions from the rules applicable in the user undertaking.

In  view  of  the  need  to  maintain  a  certain  degree  of  flexibility  in  the  working
relationship, provision should be made for the Member States to be able to delegate to
the  social  partners  the  task  of  defining  basic  working  and  employment  conditions
tailored  to  the  specific  characteristics  of  certain  types  of  employment  or  certain
branches of economic activity.

(18)  There  should  be  some  flexibility  in  the  application  of  the  principle  of  non-
discrimination in cases of assignments effected to accomplish a job which, due to its
nature or duration, lasts less than six weeks.

(19)  An improvement in the minimum protection for temporary workers occasioned by this
Directive will enable any restrictions or prohibitions which may have been imposed on
temporary work to be reviewed and, if necessary, lifted if they are no longer justified.
They may be justified only on grounds of the general interest regarding, in particular
the protection  of workers, the  requirements  of safety and health  at work  and  the
need  to  ensure  that  the  labour  market  functions  properly  and  abuses  are
prevented.

(20)  The  provisions  of  this  Directive  on  restrictions  or  prohibitions  on  temporary
work  are  without  prejudice  to  national  legislation  or  practices  prohibiting
striking workers being replaced by temporary workers.

(21)  There must be an effective means of safeguarding temporary workers’ rights.

(22) 

In  compliance  with  the  principle  of  subsidiarity  and  the  principle  of  proportionality
under  Article  5  of  the  Treaty,  the  aims  of  the  action  envisaged  above  cannot  be
achieved  satisfactorily  by  the  Member  States,  since  the  goal  is  to  establish  a
harmonised Community-level framework of protection for temporary workers; owing
to the scale and the impact of the action planned, these objectives can best be met at
Community  level  by  introducing  minimum  requirements  applicable  throughout  the
European  Community  in  order  to  provide  the  Member  States  with  a  common
framework  to  facilitate  the  integration  of  European  labour  markets  and  cross-

9

OJ L 206 of 29.7.1991, p. 19.

7

                                                
border  mobility  of  workers,  especially  in  border  regions;  this  Directive  confines
itself to what is required for achieving these objectives,

HAVE ADOPTED THIS DIRECTIVE:

CHAPTER I

GENERAL PROVISIONS

Article 1

Scope

1.  This  Directive  applies  to  workers  with  a  the  contract  of  employment  or
employment relationship with between a temporary agency, which is the employer,
and the worker, who is are posted to a user undertakings to work temporarily under
its their supervision.

2.  This  Directive  applies  to  public  and  private  undertakings  engaged  in  economic
activities  whether  or  not  they  are  operating  for  gain,  and  which  are  temporary
agencies or user undertakings.

3. Member States may, after consulting the social partners, provide that this Directive
does not apply to employment contracts or relationships concluded under a specific
public or publicly supported vocational training, integration or retraining programme.

Article 2

Aim

The purpose of this Directive is:

1.  to  ensure  the  protection  of  temporary  workers  and  to  improve  the  quality  of
temporary  work  by  ensuring  that  the  principle  of  non-discrimination  is  applied  to
temporary workers and recognising temporary agencies as employers;

2. to  establish a suitable  framework for the  use  of  temporary  work  to  contribute  to
creating jobs and the smooth functioning of the labour market.

Article 3

Definition

1. For the purposes of this Directive:

a) “worker” means any person who, in the Member State concerned, is protected as a
worker under national employment law;

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b)  temporary  worker:  a  person  with  a  contract  of  employment  or  an
employment relationship with a temporary agency with a view to being posted
to a user undertaking to work temporarily under its supervision;

b)  “comparable  worker”  means  a  worker  in  the  user  undertaking  occupying  an
identical  or  similar  post  to  that  occupied  by  the  worker  posted  by  the  temporary
agency, account being taken of seniority, qualifications and skills.

c)  “posting”  means  the  period  during  which  the  temporary  worker  is  placed  at  the
user undertaking to work temporarily under its supervision;

d) “temporary agency”  means any natural or legal  person  who,  in  compliance
law,  concludes  contracts  of  employment  or  employment
with  national 
relationships  with  temporary  workers 
in  order  to  post  them  to  user
undertakings to work there temporarily under their supervision;

e) “user undertaking” means any natural or legal person for whom and under
the supervision of whom a temporary worker works temporarily;

df)  “basic  working  and  employment  conditions”:  working  and  employment
conditions  laid  down  by  legislation,  regulations,  administrative  provisions,
collective agreements and/or other general provisions relating to:

i)  the  duration  of  working  time,  overtime,  work  breaks,  rest  periods,  night  work,
paid holidays and public holidays;

ii) pay.

iii) work done by pregnant women and nursing mothers, children and young people;

iv) action taken to combat discrimination on the grounds of sex, race or ethnic origin,
religion or beliefs, disabilities, age or sexual orientation.

2. This Directive shall be without prejudice to national law as regards the definition
of pay, contract of employment or employment relationship or worker.

However, Member States shall not exclude from the scope of this Directive workers,
contracts of employment or employment relationships solely because they relate to
they concern:

a)  part-time  workers,  within  the  meaning  of  Council  Directive  97/81/EC  of
15 December 1997;

b) fixed-term contract workers orwithin the meaning of Council Directive 99/70/EC
of 28 June 1999;

c)  persons  with  a  contract  of  employment  or  employment  relationship  with  a
temporary agency.on a posting at a user undertaking.

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Article 4

Review of restrictions or prohibitions

1. Member States, after consulting the social partners in accordance with legislation,
collective  agreements  and  national  practices,  shall  review  periodically  any
restrictions  or  prohibitions  on  temporary  work  for  certain  groups  of  workers  or
sectors  of  economic  activity  in  order  to  verify  whether  the  specific  conditions
underlying  them  still  obtain.  If  they  do  not,  the  Member  States  should  discontinue
them.

1. Prohibitions or restrictions on the use of temporary work are justified only on
grounds of general interest relating in particular to the protection of temporary
workers, the requirements of health and safety at work and the need to ensure
that the labour market functions properly and abuses are prevented.

2.  The  Member  States,  after  consulting  the  social  partners  in  accordance  with
national  legislation,  collective  agreements  and  practices,  shall  review  any
restrictions or prohibitions mentioned above in order to verify whether they are
justified on the grounds given  in paragraph 1. If not,  the Member States  shall
discontinue  them.  The  Member  States  shall  inform  the  Commission  of  the
results of that review.

3.  Paragraphs  1  and  2  are  without  prejudice  to  national  requirements  with
regard 
financial  guarantees  or
licensing,  certification, 
to  registration, 
monitoring of temporary agencies.

2. The Member States shall notify the Commission of the result of said review. If the
restrictions  or  prohibitions  are  maintained,  the  Member  States  shall  inform  the
Commission why they consider that they are necessary and justified.

The  restrictions  or  prohibitions  which  could  be  maintained  shall  be  justified  on
grounds of the general interest regarding, in particular, the protection of workers.

CHAPTER II

EMPLOYMENT AND WORKING CONDITIONS

Article 5

The principle of non-discrimination

1.  Temporary  workers  during  their  posting,  shall  receive  at  least  as  favourable
treatment, in terms of basic working and employment conditions, including seniority
in  the  job,  as  a  comparable  worker  in  the  user  enterprise,  unless  the  difference  in
treatment is justified by objective reasons.

Where appropriate, the pro rata temporis principle applies.

The basic working and employment conditions of  temporary workers shall be,
for the duration of their posting at a user undertaking, at least those that would

10

apply if they had been recruited directly by that enterprise to occupy the same
job.

When applying the above paragraph, the rules in force in the user undertaking
on:

i)  protection  of  pregnant  women  and  nursing  mothers  and  protection  of
children and young people and

ii)  equal  treatment  for  men  and  women  and  any  action  to  combat  any
discrimination based on sex, race or ethnic  origin,  religion, beliefs, disabilities,
age or sexual orientation

must be complied with as established by legislation, regulations, administrative
provisions, collective agreements and/or any other general provisions.

2.  As  regards  pay,  Member  States  may,  after  consulting  the  social  partners,
provide that an exemption be made to the principle established in paragraph 1 when
temporary workers who have a permanent contract of employment with a temporary
agency continue to be paid in the time between postings.

3.  Member  States  may,  after  consulting  give  the  social  partners  at  the  appropriate
level, give them the option of upholding or concluding collective agreements which
derogate from the principle established in paragraph 1 as long as an adequate level of
protection is provided for temporary workers.

4. Without prejudice to the provisions of paragraphs 2 and 3 above, Member States
may,  with  regard  to  pay,  provide  that  paragraph  1  shall  not  apply  where  a
temporary  worker  works  on  an  assignment  or  series  of  assignments  with  the  same
user enterprise in a post which, due to its duration or nature, can be accomplished in
a period not exceeding six weeks.

Member States shall take appropriate measures with a view to preventing misuse in
the application of this paragraph.

5. When this directive calls for a comparison to be made with a comparable worker
in  the  user  undertaking  but  no  such  worker  exists,  reference  shall  be  made  to  the
collective  agreement  applicable  in  the  user  undertaking;  if  no  such  collective
agreement  exists,  the  comparison  will  be  made  by  reference  to  the  collective
agreement  applicable  to  the  temporary  work  agency;  if  no  collective  agreement  is
applicable, the basic working and employment conditions of temporary workers will
be determined by national legislation and practices.

65.  The  implementing  procedures  for  this  Article  shall  be  defined  by  the  Member
States after consultation of the social partners. The Member States may also entrust
the social partners at the appropriate level with the task of defining these procedures
for this chapter by means of  a negotiated  agreement, in  accordance  with  national
practices.

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Article 6

Access to permanent quality employment

1. Temporary workers shall be informed of any vacant posts in the user undertaking
to  give  them  the  same  opportunity  as  other  workers  in  that  undertaking  to  find
permanent  employment.  Such  information  may  be  provided  by  a  general
announcement in a suitable place in the undertaking for which and under whose
supervision temporary workers are engaged.

2. Member States shall take any action required to ensure that any clauses prohibiting
or having the effect of preventing the conclusion of a contract of employment or an
employment  relationship  between  the  user  undertaking  and  the  temporary  worker
after his posting are null and void or may be declared null and void.

This  paragraph  is  without  prejudice  to  provisions  under  which  temporary
agencies receive a reasonable level of recompense for services rendered to user
undertakings for posting, recruitment and training of temporary workers.

3. Temporary agencies shall not charge workers any fees, especially in exchange for
arranging  for  them  to  be  recruited  by  a  user  undertaking,  or  for  concluding  a
contract of employment or an employment relationship with a user undertaking
after carrying out a posting in that undertaking.

4. Temporary workers shall be given access to the amenities or collective services
social services of the user undertaking especially canteen, child care and transport
services  under  the  same  conditions  as  workers  employed  directly  by  the
undertaking, unless there are objective reasons against this.

5. Member States shall take suitable measures or shall promote dialogue between the
social partners, in accordance with their national traditions and practices in order to:

– improve temporary workers' access to training in the temporary agencies, even in
the periods between their postings, in order to enhance their career development and
employability;

– improve temporary workers' access to training for user undertakings’ workers.

Article 7

Representation of temporary workers

Temporary  workers  shall  count,  under  conditions  established  by  the  Member
States, for the purposes of calculating the threshold above which bodies representing
workers  provided  for  under  national  and  Community  and  national  law  and
collective agreements legislation are to be formed at the temporary agency.

Member  States  may  provide  that,  under  conditions  that  they  define,  these  workers
count for the purposes of calculating the threshold above which bodies representing
workers provided for by national and Community and national law and collective
agreements legislation are to be formed in the user undertaking, in the same way as

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if they were workers employed directly for the same period of time by the user
undertaking.

Article 8

Information of workers’ representatives

Without  prejudice  to  national  and  Community  provisions  on  information  and
consultation  which  are  more  stringent  and/or  more  specific,  the  user  undertaking
must provide suitable information on the use of temporary workers when providing
information on the  employment situation in that undertaking to bodies representing
the workers set up in accordance with national and Community legislation.

CHAPTER III

FINAL PROVISIONS

Article 9

Minimum requirements

1. This Directive does not prejudice the Member  States'  right to  apply or introduce
legislative,  regulatory  or  administrative  provisions  which  are  more  favourable  to
workers or to promote or permit collective agreements concluded between the social
partners which are more favourable to workers.

2.  The  implementation  of  this  Directive  shall  under  no  circumstances  constitute
sufficient  grounds  for  justifying  a  reduction  in  the  general  level  of  protection  of
workers in the fields covered by this Directive. This shall be without prejudice to the
rights of Member States and/or management and labour to lay down, in the light of
changing circumstances, different legislative, regulatory or contractual arrangements
to those prevailing at the time of the adoption of this Directive, provided always that
the minimum requirements laid down in this Directive are adhered to.

Article 10

Penalties

Member  States  shall  lay  down  rules  on  penalties  applicable  in  the  event  of
infringements  of  national  provisions  enacted  under  this  Directive  and  shall  take  all
necessary measures to ensure that they are applied. The penalties provided for must
be  effective,  proportionate  and  dissuasive.  Member  States  shall  notify  these
provisions  to  the  Commission  by  the  date  given  in  Article  11  at  the  latest  and  any
subsequent  amendment  within  good  time.  They  shall,  in  particular,  ensure  that
workers  and/or  their  representatives  have  adequate  means  of  enforcing  the
obligations under this Directive.

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Article 11

Implementation

1. The Member States shall adopt the laws, regulations and administrative provisions
necessary to comply with this Directive by [two years after adoption] at the latest, or
shall ensure that the social partners introduce the necessary provisions by way of an
agreement, whereby the Member States must make all the necessary arrangements to
enable them to guarantee at any time that the objectives of  this Directive are being
attained. They shall forthwith inform the Commission thereof.

2. When Member States adopt these provisions, they shall contain a reference to this
Directive  or  shall  be  accompanied  by  such  a  reference  on  the  occasion  of  their
official publication. The methods of making such reference shall be laid down by the
Member States.

Article 12

Review by the Commission

(Five  years  after  adoption  of  this  Directive)  at  the  latest,  the  Commission  shall,  in
consultation with the Member States and social partners at Community level, review
application  thereof  with  a  view  to  proposing,  where  appropriate,  the  necessary
amendments to the Parliament and the Council.

Article 13

Entry into force

This Directive shall enter into force on the twentieth day after its publication in the
Official Journal of the European Communities.

Article 14

This Directive is addressed to the Member States.

Done at Brussels,

For the European Parliament
The President

For the Council
The President

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