Enforcement of EU Labour Law: Legal foundations and the role of the CJEU

Abstract

Labour law enforcement is crucial for achieving its social objectives, yet it often faces significant challenges in terms of its capacity to ensure the effective protection of labour rights. In the EU context, effective enforcement of labour law is further complicated by the absence of a sectoral, i.e., labour-specific, approach and the challenges in implementing EU substantive rules, often stipulated in Directives. The article assesses the enforcement landscape of EU labour law and particularly the legal foundations and the CJEU's role. Focusing on key enforcement issues, the analysis highlights how the constitutional right to an effective judicial remedy, as interpreted by the CJEU, and the inclusion of more comprehensive enforcement provisions in EU Directives are mitigating to some extent the existing fragmentation in the EU regulatory landscape, and concludes with considering future directions in EU labour law enforcement.