Fundamentals of Labor Law: Rights, Sources, and EU Regulations
Key Characteristics of Labor Law Regulation
For an activity to be regulated by labor law, it typically exhibits the following characteristics:
- Voluntary: Individual workers should be free to decide whether to enter and remain in the employment relationship.
- Personal: The work is performed by the individual worker for another, yielding the fruits of labor and wages in exchange. This distinguishes it from self-employment, where the individual performs the work activity for themselves.
- Dependence (Subordination): The entrepreneur (employer) dictates when, where, and how the work must be performed.
- Remuneration (Pay): The employee receives a salary for their work, and the employer obtains the goods or services resulting from the worker’s task.
Sources of Labor Law
Labor law draws from various sources, including:
- Legislation: A standard issued with due formalities by the competent authority, enacted to be sufficiently stable and fair.
- Collective Agreements: Special sources of labor law, unique in their nature.
- Employment Contracts: Individual agreements between employer and employee.
- Local and Professional Customs: Established practices recognized as binding.
Understanding Collective Agreements
A collective agreement is a special source of labor law that does not exist in other areas of law. It is defined as a written agreement, negotiated between workers (or their representatives) and employers (or their associations), to regulate working conditions and standards of coexistence within enterprises. The right to collective bargaining is recognized by the constitution.
Custom as a Source of Labor Law
From a legal standpoint, custom refers to a standard of conduct born from repeated and constant social practice, considered binding by the community. Local and professional customs are listed as sources of labor law, influencing the status of workers.
Local Customs
Local customs are specific to each location, rather than being regional or provincial. A custom from one locality cannot be claimed in another.
Professional Customs
Professional customs refer to practices commonly used by workers and employers within a specific branch of production, trade, or profession. These should not be confused with local customs.
Key Provisions of EU Labor Law
Free Movement of Workers
An EU citizen has the right to live and move freely within the territory of member states. This means they can work in an EU country other than their own, enjoying the same labor rights, union rights, and labor protection.
Freedom of Establishment for Services
Independent workers and artisans can establish themselves in any EU country, often with a condition of having resided there for 3 or 6 years. This freedom of establishment allows EU citizens to develop their own activities and create or run businesses across the Union.
Harmonized Working Conditions in the EU
The EU has regulated various aspects of working conditions, including:
- Written labor contracts
- Health and safety protection
- Prohibition of work for those under 15 years of age
- Protection of pregnant women
These harmonized conditions do not exclude the possibility for each country to establish more favorable provisions for workers.
Recognition of Professional Qualifications
Professionals, workers, and employees can work in another EU country when their qualifications have been mutually recognized. The European Commission publishes tables of correspondence for qualifications across various professions in the Official Journal of the European Union (OJ).
Access to Public Employment
Public employment opportunities should generally be open to all citizens of EU member states. Exceptions may apply for positions involving public authority and national sovereignty, such as in the armed forces.
Worker Training and Employment Initiatives
The European Social Fund (ESF) promotes the training of workers and supports initiatives aimed at job creation, particularly for the long-term unemployed. This includes granting wage subsidies to facilitate employment.
Principles for Applying Labor Standards
Legal standards in labor law are applied according to several fundamental principles:
- Hierarchy of Norms: Legal standards are applied in accordance with the principle of hierarchy, meaning that lower-ranking rules cannot contradict or undermine higher-ranking ones.
- Minimum Standard Principle: Superior standards determine the minimum content of subsequent standards. This implies that:
- Working conditions detrimental to the worker are generally non-derogable.
- Subsidiary regulations or collective agreements cannot establish working conditions worse than those dictated by law.
- Individual employment contracts cannot establish conditions less favorable than those determined by law or collective agreements.
- Most Favorable Standard Principle: When two or more standards are applicable to a particular case, the one that, appreciated as a whole, is most favorable to the worker shall be applied.
- Indispensability of Worker Rights: Workers cannot waive rights established in legal norms and collective agreements. This means rights such as paid leave, salary, or rest periods cannot be forfeited.
- Principle of Condition More Favorable: If an existing employment contract or agreement provides more beneficial terms than a newly established labor standard, those more beneficial terms shall be maintained, unless explicitly superseded by a higher-ranking, mandatory norm.
- In Dubio Pro Operario Principle: In case of doubt about the application or interpretation of a rule, courts and interpreters should choose the form that is most beneficial for the worker.