The weekly rest a worker has a right to can be granted any day within a given seven-day period, which, according to Advocate General Henrik Saugmandsgaard Øe in his conclusions of 21 June for Case C-306/16, paves the way to working 12 consecutive days at work.
António Fernando Maio Marques da Rosa was employed from 1991 to 2014 in a casino in Portugal. Up until 2010, however, he was sometimes obliged to work seven days in a row. Considering that his rights were being undermined, he approached the Portuguese courts to obtain compensation.
The Portuguese courts dealing with the litigation approached the European Court of Justice (ECJ) with regard to a question of damages and whether under the terms of directive 93/104/EC on working time, the weekly rest period should be granted on the seventh day following six consecutive days of work.
In his conclusions, the Advocate General argued that the above-mentioned directive should be interpreted in the sense that weekly rest time should be granted within a given period of seven days. According to this interpretation, an employee can therefore be obliged to work up to 12 consecutive days between two rest periods. Judges at the ECJ now have to give their verdict on the case. (Original version in French by Lucas Tripoteau)