The European Commission announced on Thursday 25 July that it had sent a reasoned opinion to Hungary for “failure to comply with its obligation to protect on-call workers” within the meaning of the Working Time Directive (Directive 2003/88/EC) (see EUROPE B8594B10).
The Directive imposes a limit on the average weekly working time for Member States of a maximum of 48 hours (taking into account overtime). However, in Hungary, on-call workers can work up to 72 hours per week over a six-month reference period. Some adjustments are possible, but workers can always go back on the agreement. However, Hungarian law is not sufficiently protective, according to the institution, since workers who withdraw from an opt-out agreement are protected only in the event of dismissal.
The Commission requests the Hungarian authorities to comply with the provisions of the Directive within two months, failing which the institution may refer the matter to the Court of Justice of the European Union. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)