WORKING TIME : RIGHTS GUARANTEED EVEN IN ABSENCE OF TRANSPOSITION.

Citizens should not have to suffer the consequences of delayed transposition of a directive that confers rights on individuals: they may avail themselves of these rights directly even if the text has not yet been transposed into national legislation. This analysis is the response by the EU Court of Justice to a request for a preliminary ruling submitted by a German court in regard to EU working time legislation (Directives 93/104/EC and 2003/88/EC)(1).

The case concerns a fire ighter, Gunter Fuss, who until 4 January 2007 had worked an average of 54 hours per week, including 24-hour shifts made up of a period of active service and a stand-by period. Fuss requested of his employer, in December 2006, that in the future his weekly working time no longer exceed the maximum average limit of 48 hours laid down in the directive. He also applied for compensation for overtime worked during the period between 1 January 2004 and 31 December 2006. According to Fuss, this could be granted either in the form of time off in lieu or financial compensation for the overtime worked. The German administration rejected his request for compensation for the period from 1 January 2004 to 31 December 2006 on the ground that the right to compensation arises on the day a relevant application is made. By contrast, it accepted his request for reparation in the form of time off in lieu from January 2007, the date his application was made. Fuss appealed this decision. The German court before which the action was brought...