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Abstract
This paper explores the evolving legal landscape surrounding the remuneration of “grey time” – periods of on-call or stand-by duty – within both EU and Italian frameworks. It critically examines the jurisprudence of the European Court of Justice, which progressively redefined “working time” through spatial and temporal constraints, affecting how such periods are legally classified. The paper also connects these developments to the EU Directive on Adequate Minimum Wages, arguing that wage adequacy concerns working time. It further discusses the role that recent Italian Court of Cassation rulings invoking constitutional principles of proportionality and sufficiency in wage, on one hand, and a ruling by the same Court regarding the qualification of grey. The study concludes that compensation for legally classified working time must meet both sufficiency and proportionality requirements, potentially opening space for judicial review of collective agreements.
Keywords
Working time, Grey times, Wage, Proportionality, Sufficiency.