In Maio Marques da Roda v Varzim Sol the European Court of Justice held that the EU Working Time Directive does allow for weekly rest of 24 hours for a worker, which can be given at any point in a 14 day period.
In this case, a redundant casino worker claimed that he had not been given a sufficient weekly rest period. He argued that he was entitled to a weekly rest period of 24 hours and that this should have been given at the latest after working six consecutive days.
It was held that although there was no requirement for a rest period to be provided after six consecutive days of work, it should be provided within each 7 day period. The Directive would therefore allow an employee to have a rest day at the beginning of one 7 day period and then again at the end of the next 7 day period, therefore allowing 12 consecutive days of work.
Written by
Rachael Jessop
19th December 2017