This case involved interpreting the Council Directive 93/104/EC of 23 November 1993 concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time (the Working Time Directive). The question raised in the proceedings was whether the legislation of a Member State may lawfully provide that a worker's entitlement to paid annual leave (or to the advantages associated with it) will start to accrue only after completion of a minimum period of employment with the same employer.

 

 

The AG advised that the Directive should be interpreted so that it “precludes national legislation under which a worker does not begin to accrue rights to the paid annual leave specified in Article 7 (or to derive any benefits consequent thereon) until he has completed a qualifying period of employment with the same employer even if, once that qualifying period has been completed, his employment during the qualifying period is taken into account for the purpose of computing his leave entitlement”.