''Udo Steymann v Staatssecretaris van Justitie '' (1988
Case 196/87is a
European Union law
European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...
case, concerning the
free movement of workers in the European Union.
Facts
Udo Steymann was a German plumber working in the
Netherlands
, Terminology of the Low Countries, informally Holland, is a country in Northwestern Europe, with Caribbean Netherlands, overseas territories in the Caribbean. It is the largest of the four constituent countries of the Kingdom of the Nether ...
. He joined the
Rajneesh movement, a religious group who provided for each other's material needs through commercial activity including running a discothèque, a bar, and a launderette. He participated in the community by doing plumbing, household duties, and other activities. The community would provide for people irrespective of the activities they undertook. He applied for residence to pursue the activity but was refused. When he appealed a reference was made to the
European Court of Justice
The European Court of Justice (ECJ), officially the Court of Justice (), is the supreme court of the European Union in matters of European Union law. As a part of the Court of Justice of the European Union, it is tasked with interpreting ...
(ECJ).
Judgment
The ECJ held that remuneration may be indirect “
quid pro quo
''Quid pro quo'' (Latin: "something for something") is a Latin phrase used in English to mean an exchange of goods or services, in which one transfer is contingent upon the other; "a favor for a favor". Phrases with similar meanings include: " ...
” rather than strict consideration for work i.e. work does not need to be paid for in money as long as the worker agrees to receive something else in return.
Under the
Lawrie-Blum formula, the Court held that Steymann provided services of value to the community which, otherwise, would have had to be performed by another person who would have been paid; therefore, he qualified as a worker.
See also
*
European Union law
European Union law is a system of Supranational union, supranational Law, laws operating within the 27 member states of the European Union (EU). It has grown over time since the 1952 founding of the European Coal and Steel Community, to promote ...
References
{{reflist, 2
European Union labour case law