On 09 March the CJEU handed down two rulings affirming that a period of stand-by duty can constitute working time in its entirety only when the constraints imposed on the worker very significantly affect his or her ability to manage his or her free time during that period. These constraints however must result from the employer's instructions and the Luxembourg judges have provided some new indications to help national judges assess the level of ‘intensity’ of such constraints.
Case C-344/19 concerned a specialist technician responsible for ensuring the operation, for several consecutive days, of television transmission centres situated in the mountains in Slovenia. In addition to his 12 hours of normal work, he was on also on stand-by for six hours a day. During these periods, he was not obliged to stay at the transmission center concerned but had to be reachable by telephone and able to return to work within one hour if necessary.
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