Taking EU labour law beyond the employment contract: The role played by the European Court of Justice

The ongoing transformation of work has been increasing the number of working relationships not falling within the domain of labour law. Non-standard and contingent working arrangements, most recently those prompted by the so-called gig economy, struggle to meet customary employment tests, since the employee/self-employed dichotomy has long been eclipsed. As this article will argue, the Court of Justice of the European Union, in shaping the scope of EU labour law, has been looking beyond the traditional categories. Starting from the area of the free movement of workers, the Court has built a common European concept of worker, broader than that of ‘employee’ endorsed by national jurisdictions, applying it to an increasing body of EU social legislation. Because of the primacy of EU law, the Court’s approach is bound to influence national laws.

Public Tenders for Music Teachers in the South of Brazil

This article presents the research that investigated the performance of open procedure for music teachers in municipal schools in Rio Grande do Sul, (a) state in the south of Brazil. The methodology included Internet research and, for data analysis, Content Analysis. The theoretical reference was based on concepts of Musical Education marked by the Policy Cycle Approach. Considering the 2008 mid-2017 time cut-off, sixty (public) notices were identified for the hiring of music teachers. Out of the 497 municipalities that make up the state, 133 conducted Employment tests. Still, it is understood that there are great challenges for the presence of music in state schools.

Primacy of Reality

Chapter 3 describes the principle of primacy of reality in Latin America, namely, in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, and Uruguay. The principle is also contained in the International Labor Organization’s Recommendation 198. The principle posits that facts must be given preference over what parties, particularly employers, state in legal texts, documents, and agreements. It is particularly important when determining threshold questions in labor law, such as employee and employer status. While employers might deny an employment relationship given a formal agreement to hire workers as independent contractors, the facts might show otherwise. However, the chapter also argues that primacy of reality depends on the principle of protection and in dubio pro operario to resolve questions when the facts are not dispositive given vague or missing rules. The chapter then searches primacy of reality in the United States and finds it in various employment tests, such as the common law control test. It is also finds it in employer tests of joint employer status. However, many of those tests remain vague, requiring supplementation with the U.S. versions of in dubio pro operario, i.e., liberal construction of the statutes that derogate the common law, and with legislative purpose. Primacy of reality makes it even more important for legal operators to be cognizant of labor law principles and, principally, the protective principle.

The contract-of-employment test renewed. A Scandinavian approach to platform work

Platform work blurs the scope of labour law and challenges the contract-of-employment test, threatening effective labour law protection. This article analyses this challenge from a Scandinavian perspective, where the contract-of-employment tests share common features and where a core common challenge is the ambiguous nature of worker freedom: When does the freedom to choose tasks and hours indicate autonomy and when does it indicate (extreme) precarity?As the criteria guiding the test leave this issue unresolved, the article argues that a renewal is required and suggests how it can be achieved. The purposive approach rooted in Scandinavian jurisprudence allows for both an individual and a market perspective, and provides a basis for a careful renewal of the test. The article concludes by suggesting new –or updated– criteria guiding the contract-of-employment test when dealing with platform work.Keywords: platform work, crowdwork, contract of employment, concept of employee.