7.9.2015

Official Journal of the European Union

C 294/11

(Case C-229/14) (<span class="super">1</span>)

((Reference for a preliminary ruling - Directive 98/59/EC - Article 1(1)(a) - Collective redundancies - Concept of ‘worker’ - Member of the board of directors of a limited liability company - Person working under a scheme for training and reintegration into the labour market and benefitting from a public training grant but not receiving remuneration from the employer))

(2015/C 294/14)

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Ender Balkaya

Defendant: Kiesel Abbruch- und Recycling Technik GmbH

Operative part of the judgment

1.Article 1(1)(a) of Directive 98/59/EC of 20 July 1998, on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to collective redundancies, must be interpreted as meaning that it precludes a national law or practice that does not take into account, in the calculation provided for by that provision of the number of workers employed, a member of the board of directors of a capital company, such as the director in question in the main proceedings, who performs his duties under the direction and subject to the supervision of another body of that company, receives remuneration in return for the performance of his duties and does not himself own any shares in the company.

2.Article 1(1)(a) of Directive 98/59 must be interpreted as meaning that it is necessary to regard as a worker for the purposes of that provision a person, such as the one in question in the main proceedings, who, while not receiving remuneration from his employer, performs real work within the undertaking in the context of a traineeship — with financial support from, and the recognition of, the public authority responsible for the promotion of employment — in order to acquire or improve skills or complete vocational training.

Language of the case: German

(<span class="super">1</span>) OJ C 303, 8.9.2014.