El «tiempo de trabajo» y el «período de descanso» a debate en las guardias en régimen de disponibilidad no presencialSentencias del Tribunal de Justicia de la Unión Europea de 9 de marzo de 2021, asuntos C-344/19 y C-580/19

Abstract

This work aims to analyse two judgements of the Court of Justice of the European Union, dated 9th March 2021, which address the issue of the classification of the stand-by time according to a stand-by system as «working time» or «rest period». To that effect, this investigation will carry out a compilation of the interpretations provided by the Court with an aim to clarify the instances in which this time is considered «working time», according to all the objective and significant limitations that are set on the worker to manage their free time during that period (especially, the response time and, if necessary, the average frequency of intervention) and rejecting those which come from natural elements or workers» free will. At the same time, this work will introduce a series of critical conclusions in terms of the vague criteria adopted by the Court of Justice and the need for observance of corporate duties in the area of occupational risk prevention.