In my master’s thesis, I was looking for an answer to the question of where the dividing line between working time and rest period lies. The importance and the purpose of limiting working time has been recognised in various international labour law documents, but very few have actually defined working time and rest periods. Thus, a definition can only be found in Article 2 of Directive 2003/88/EC concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time, which defines working time as any time during which a worker works, is at the disposal of the employer and performs his/her tasks or duties in accordance with national law and/or practice, and rest periods as time other than working time. While the definition and distinction between the two is quite clear, the advancement of technology and the emergence of new forms of work show that this is not the case. European Union Member States have referred a number of preliminary questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union on the delimitation of working time and rest, in particular regarding breaks, travel to and from work and stand-by time. The distinction essentially rests upon the question whether the individual in each category is free to manage his or her time and pursue his or her own interests without objective and very significant constraints. Thus, if a worker is on call and has to be present at the workplace (whether working or resting during this time), this will certainly be working time; if he is on stand-by at home, the decision will depend on the circumstances of the individual case - for example, the response time required to arrive at work, the frequency of interventions, the specific characteristics of the occupation, the quality of the time spent on standby, the physical presence required at the workplace, the obligation to respond to calls, the possibility of engaging in other gainful activity and the existence of sanctions for inaction.
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