Commission Opinion within the framework of Article 17(5) of Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time ( The Working Time Directive ) — Extension of transitional arrangements for the working time of doctors in training in the Netherlands

• Published date: 13 October 2009
• Subject Matter: Social provisions,Approximation of laws,Internal market - Principles
• Official Gazette Publication: Official Journal of the European Union, C 245, 13 October 2009

13.10.2009 EN Official Journal of the European Union C 245/6

---

COMMISSION OPINION

within the framework of Article 17(5) of Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time (‘The Working Time Directive’)

Extension of transitional arrangements for the working time of doctors in training in the Netherlands

2009/C 245/02

1. Introduction

This Opinion is based on Article 17(5) of Directive 2003/88/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council (1) concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time (‘The Working Time Directive’). It concerns a notification by the Netherlands, under this Article, of its wish to continue transitional arrangements until 31 July 2011 as concerns working time limits for doctors in training.

Doctors in training were excluded from the scope of the first Working Time Directive in 1993. This was changed in 2000 by an amending Directive, and doctors in training are now covered by the consolidated Working Time Directive, in the same way as other workers (2). Normally, Article 6 of the Directive limits working time to a maximum of 48 hours per week on averageaugust (3), including any overtime. However, Article 17(5) of the Working Time Directive allows transitional arrangements for applying these limits to weekly working time in the case of doctors in training.

The relevant parts of Article 17(5) are as follows:

‘… With respect to Article 6 (limit of 48 hours to average weekly working time) derogations (regarding doctors in training) shall be permitted for a transitional period of five years from 1 August 2004.

Member States may have up to two more years (from 1 August 2009), if necessary, to take account of difficulties in meeting the working time provisions with respect to their responsibilities for the organisation and delivery of health services and medical care. At least six months before the end of the transitional period, the Member State concerned shall inform the Commission giving its reasons, so that the Commission can give an opinion, after appropriate consultations, within the three months following receipt of such information. If the Member State does not follow the opinion of the Commission, it will justify its decision. The notification and justification of the Member State and the opinion of the Commission shall be published in the Official Journal of the European Union and forwarded to the European Parliament.

Member States may have an additional period of one year, if necessary, to take account of special difficulties in meeting the responsibilities referred to in the (previous) subparagraph. They shall follow the procedure set out in that subparagraph.

Member States shall ensure that in no case will the number of weekly working hours exceed an average of 58 during the first three years of the transitional period, an average of 56 hours for the following two years, and an average of 52 for any remaining period…

With respect to Article 16(b) (reference period for calculating average weekly working time) derogations (regarding doctors in training) shall be permitted provided that the reference period does not exceed 12 months, during the first part of the transitional period (2004-2007), and six months thereafter.’

Article 17(5) also provides for consultation between employers and employees’ representatives about the implementation of any transitional arrangements: ‘the employer shall consult the representatives of the employees in good time with a view to reaching an agreement, wherever possible, on the arrangements applying to the transitional period.’ Such an agreement must respect the limits set out in Article 17(5), but it may set out, in particular, the measures to be adopted to reduce weekly working hours to an average of 48 by the end of the transitional period.

These transitional arrangements are summarised in the table below.

Table: Summary of the transitional provisions for doctors in training, under Article 17(5)

Period	Derogation possible	Conditions
1 August 2004-31 July 2009	Derogation from 48-hour limit to average weekly working time	Transitional limits will apply to average weekly working time: 1 August 2004-31 July 2007: May not exceed average 58 hours/week. The reference period (4)may not exceed 12 months. 1 August 2007-31 July 2009: May not exceed average 56 hours per week. The reference period may not exceed six months.
1 August 2009-31 July 2011	Extension of above derogation from 48-hour limit	If necessary to take account of difficulties in meeting the working time provisions, given the responsibilities for organising and delivering health

...