RYANAIR cabin crew working outside Ireland can now choose to be subject to the law of the country they are based in, the EU’s top court has ruled.
The European Court of Justice in Luxembourg ruled in favour of Ryanair cabin crew based in Belgium, who took the airline to court believing Belgian employment law would be more favourable to them.
Ryanair argued that Irish law applied to their employees under their Irish contracts, but their contention was rejected in a case which could have implications across the low-cost airline trade.
“The Court points out first of all that, as regards disputes related to employment contracts, the European rules concerning jurisdiction are aimed at protecting the weaker party,” the ECJ said in a statement.
“Those rules enable inter alia an employee to sue his employer before the courts which he regards as closest to this interests.”
The ruling will come as a relief to cabin crew staff in Europe who are uncertain which laws apply to them overseas.
The Belgian-based employees had contracts stating their work was to be regarded as being carried out ‘in Ireland’ – since they were working on Irish-registered aircraft.
But the crew argued that they should be subject to Belgian law as the base where they begin their working days is Charleroi Airport in southern Belgium, rather than an Irish facility.
In a statement, Ryanair said the court decision should be taken in isolation and does not apply to all of their employees throughout Europe.
"Ryanair will continue to employ its crew on Irish contracts of employment,” the airline said.
“This decision only updates the criteria for assessing the jurisdiction of national courts to hear legal cases locally and does not alter the law applicable to the contract, which is determined by the Rome I Regulation.”
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