Recent case law on equal treatment of agency workers: broad interpretation of a limited concept?

Abstract Directive 2008/104/EC calls for the equal treatment of agency workers and directly employed staff at the user company. This article focuses on the limits of this principle inherent in the Directive and on how the European Court of Justice has recently striven to interpret agency workers’ right to equal treatment as broadly as possible. The article also explores how the European Court of Justice has tried to broaden the material scope of agency workers’ right to equal treatment and points out the possible shortcomings of the narrow interpretation given to derogations by collective agreements. Finally, possible ways of enhancing the Directive’s effectiveness are addressed.