Editorial EELC 2018 issue 3

Welcome EELA Members!

EELC and the European Employment Law Association, EELA, have had long historical links. Not only that, but they share similar goals. EELA strives to improve understanding of the social dimension of employment law by exchanging views on practice and strengthening links between EU employment lawyers. Meanwhile, EELC seeks to inform and encourage debate around EU-level employment law decisions. So it is imminently sensible that from now on, all EELA members will have access to our EELC database. 

It goes without saying that all practicing employment law lawyers need to have a thorough knowledge of EU law. Without that knowledge, we would be lost. We would not know about the EU rules on transfers of undertakings and exceptions such as ETO reasons, for example, and we wouldn’t be able to advise our clients properly on topics such as shift work, which – as in a case in this issue - partly takes place during nights and is performed by a pregnant employee. Nor would we know how to begin to answer to a question about how to interpret clause 4 of the framework agreement on fixed-term work.

Cases that address these particular questions are discussed in this issue, along with many other national cases involving EU law. In addition, authors from different jurisdictions share their knowledge and exchange interesting views.

This is not merely important, but absolutely essential for all of us, as it helps us to be good, well-informed lawyers, up-to-date with what is happening both in our own jurisdictions and the wider EU context.

But most of all, for me at least: it’s fun. It is great to understand what happens to similar rules in other member states. Do they take the similar routes and adopt parallel solutions or do they diverge in unexpected ways?

I hope you will enjoy all this as much as I do. And please feel free to join the debate!

Zef Even, editor