Labour Research (October 2002)

Features: Law queries

Law queries

Am I right in thinking that there is a law which states that if a company operates in more than one European Union country then rights accorded to the employees in one country cannot be denied to the employees of the same company working in another country?

There is a European Union (EU) law which gives workers who are temporarily transferred to another EU state the right to have the basic terms and conditions which workers in that state enjoy. For example, if a worker from Portugal is sent to work in the UK he or she must be paid at least the UK national minimum wage, even if their contract specifies a lower rate. But the law only covers statutory employment rights. It does not mean that companies then have to offer the same terms and conditions throughout the whole of the EU.

* More information: LRD booklet, Law at work 2002


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