The working time – various developments of the meaning of working time at the European Union level from a Romanian labor relations’ perspective

The working time is defined by the European Directive concerning certain aspects of the organisation of working time. The meaning of ‘working time’ and applicability of the Directive’s requirements was further clarified by the Court of Justice of the European Union in its case law, with respect to various situations such as: working time of the employees who perform work on call, working time of the foresters who are provided with tied accommodation within the range of forest within their purview and qualification of the time spent by workers when travelling from home to work. Over the past years such cases have been more often met in the employment relationships in Romania, especially as regards work on call and mobile employees. Since there are no specific legal provisions to clarify the legal regime applicable to such situations, whether and in which circumstances they represent working time and the corresponding rights and obligations of the respective employees, the study aims to analyse such situations from the perspective of the Romanian labour relations by comparing the European legislation and case law with the Romanian national legislation in view of finding some specific answers useful for the interpretation and application of the Romanian legislation in such specific cases.