Op-Ed: “There is a Time for Everything” by Daniela Krömer

In two judgments, DJ v Radiotelevizija Slovenija (C‑344/19) and RJ v Stadt Offenbach am Main (C-580/19), concerning the interpretation of Article 2(1) and (2) of the Working Time Directive 2003/88, the Grand Chamber of the Court of Justice provided much welcomed clarity on the classification of periods of ‘on-call time’ as either ‘working time’ or ‘a rest period’ within the meaning of the Directive. The cases concerned workers who claimed that the time they spent on on-call duty did qualify as working time. They argued that their obligations during these periods of on-call duty were of such a nature that they were in fact at their employers’ disposal.

It is important to note that the concepts of ‘working time’ and ‘rest period’ in