Background
Fourteen Romanian education employees held full-time, indefinite-duration contracts and, between 2019 and 2022, also worked under part-time, fixed-term contracts paid by the hour. When their annual-leave remuneration and meal allowances were calculated, the employer considered only work and income under their full-time contracts.
The employees’ trade union sued on their behalf. The Regional Court in Vaslui upheld their claims, concluding that the relevant Romanian administrative rules conflicted with superior national law and EU protections for paid leave and part-time workers. The employer appealed only the award concerning annual-leave remuneration, and the Court of Appeal in Iaşi referred questions to the CJEU concerning leave pay and meal allowances.
The Court’s Holding
The CJEU held that Article 7(1) of Directive 2003/88, read in light of Article 31(2) of the Charter, and the non-discrimination provisions of the EU framework agreements on part-time and fixed-term work preclude national legislation that calculates annual-leave remuneration without considering the work performed and income earned under the employee’s part-time, fixed-term contract. At least for the EU-guaranteed minimum four weeks of leave, remuneration may not be lower than the worker’s average normal remuneration during periods of actual work.
The Court also held that national legislation and practice may not grant a salary-based meal allowance solely for work under the full-time, indefinite-duration contract while disregarding work under the part-time, fixed-term contract. Because the allowance was paid as salary income regardless of actual meal expenses, it was a component of remuneration and had to be included in annual-leave pay. The Court found no objective justification for the less favorable treatment, subject to the referring court’s verification of specified matters of national law.
Key Takeaways
- Workers who simultaneously hold full-time permanent and part-time fixed-term contracts remain protected by both EU framework agreements’ non-discrimination rules.
- Pay for the minimum annual leave guaranteed by EU law must reflect normal remuneration, including work and income under an additional part-time contract.
- A meal allowance treated as salary income must be provided on a proper pro rata basis and included when calculating paid-annual-leave remuneration.
Why It Matters
The judgment prevents employers from using the designation of one contract as the employee’s “basic” post to exclude compensation earned under a concurrent contract from statutory leave pay. It confirms that accumulating contracts with the same employer does not remove part-time or fixed-term workers from EU anti-discrimination protection.
The ruling is particularly significant for public-sector and education employers that use parallel hourly contracts. Benefits constituting remuneration must generally account for all covered work, with proportional treatment where appropriate, unless a concrete and objectively justified distinction applies.