The Supreme Court recently issued an important ruling for internationally operating road transport employers and their employees on the question of which law applies to the employment contract when work is carried out in several countries.
Background
The applicable law, or the applicable mandatory law if a choice of law has been made, is determined based on article 8 of Rome I Regulation. The basic principle is that the law of the country in which or, failing that, from which the employee habitually carries out his work (the habitual place of work) must be considered. However, if it appears that the contract is more closely connected to another country, the law of that other country will apply. This is also referred to as the "closer connection criterion". For both the determination of the habitual place of work and the closer connection criterion, the Court of Justice of the European Union (ECJ) has formulated points of view.
Facts
The case involved 10 truck drivers residing in Hungary who were employed by a Hungarian employer as part of an international group with a Dutch shareholder. The employment contracts did not contain a choice of law clause. The drivers argued that the Netherlands was their habitual place of work and that Dutch law applied to their employment contract, because – among other things – the transport activities were organised and coordinated from the Netherlands.
Decision
The Court of Appeal ruled in favour of the drivers. The Court of Appeal reasoned...
Did you know that Caitlin Clark is an "avatar for people who want to spread hate"? Because Cari Champion does. Did you know that the fans who latched onto her are just middle Americans "who want t...