EUPillar Unknown - Trav. Charleroi, 4 November 2013

Summary

In this case, a Belgian trade unionist represented a steward – who lives in Spain – who had worked for Ryanair for more than 2 years until being fired in 2011. The defendant, Ryanair, is domiciled in Ireland. The Labour Court of Charleroi had to examine its international jurisdiction. Art. 19 Brussels I Regulation provides that an employer domiciled in a Member State may be sued in another Member State in the courts for the place where the employee habitually carries out its work or in the courts for the last place where he did so. The flights on which the steward worked departed and arrived at Charleroi airport; the steward had to rent an apartment close to the Charleroi airport; his working hours were clocked in at Charleroi; his training took place in Charleroi; his uniform was handed to him in Charleroi; his flight schedules were notified through a pc screen which was also at his disposal at Charleroi airport; … Nevertheless, the Court agreed with Ryanair’s side of the argument. The organisation and management of the staff is centralised in Dublin. There is no team present in Charleroi which has the power or the possibility to independently fix things such as flight schedules. Short critique This is one of several cases where the Labour Court of Charleroi has to rule on an issue of jurisdiction between an employee of Ryanair and the airline company. In the present case, the Court looks at the place of the organisation and management of Ryanair. However, this is not what is meant by Art. 19 Brussels I, which refers to the "place where the employee habitually carries out his work". The court should look at the place of work from the position of the employee, not the employer.