• In Case 66/85 Lawrie Blum [1986], the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) set out a three pronged test in establishing a whether an individual is a worker in Community law. The individual must:
  1. Perform services for and under the direction of another
  • For a certain period of time
  • And they do so for remuneration
  • In addition to the above, the work must be a genuine and an effective economic activity.

Facts of the case:

  • The applicant was a British national trainee teacher.
  • She attempted to go to Germany for teacher training, and Germany refused her entry on the grounds of nationality.
  • The German government said that, as a trainee, the applicant did not fall within the category of a ‘worker’, for the purposes of Article 45 Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU).

Issue in Case 55/85 Lawrie Blum [1986]:

  • The issue for the court in this case was whether the applicant was a worker for the purposes of Article 45 TFEU

The CJEU held:

  • The CJEU said that the applicant was a worker, and that the German government’s decision was discriminatory. The CJEU also stated that the refusal prevented her from accessing the employment market, and presented as a bar to her becoming a teacher.
  • In addition to this, the CJEU outlined a three part test for determining whether someone was a worker.
  1. They must perform services for and under the direction of another,
  • For a certain period of time,
  • And they must do so for remuneration (a salary or fee)
  • In addition to the above, the work must be a genuine and an effective economic activity.

The CJEU specifically stated that:

  • [18] “That concept must be defined in accordance with objective criteria which distinguish the employment relationship by reference to the rights and duties of the persons concerned. The essential feature of an employment relationship, however, is that for a certain period of time a person performs services for and under the direction of another person in return for which he receives remuneration” [2144]
  • [19] “the present case, it is clear that during the entire period of preparatory service the trainee teacher is under the direction and supervision of the school to which he is assigned. It is the school that determines the services to be performed by him and his working hours and it is the school’s instructions that he must carry out and its rules that he must observe. During a substantial part of the preparatory service he is required to give lessons to the school’s pupils and thus provides a service of some economic value to the school. The amounts which he receives may be regarded as remuneration for the services provided and for the duties involved in completing the period of preparatory service. Consequently, the three criteria for the existence of an employment relationship are fulfilled in this case.”
  • [22] “Consequently, the reply to the first part of the question must be that a trainee teacher who, under the direction and supervision of the school authorities, is undergoing a period of service in preparation for the teaching profession during which he provides services by giving lessons and receives remuneration must be regarded as a worker within the meaning of Article 48 (1) of the EEC Treaty, irrespective of the legal nature of the employment relationship”

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