Employment particulars: Employer had to notify employee of obligation to work overtime

In Lange v Georg Schünemann GmbH 8.2.01 Case C-350/99, the ECJ rules that an employee's obligation to work overtime whenever requested to do so by his employer was an essential element of the contract that had to be notified to him in writing. The EC Employment Particulars Directive imposes a general obligation on employers to inform their employees of all the essential elements of the contract or employment relationship. The list of such elements contained in the Directive refers to normal working hours, which do not include overtime, but that list is not exhaustive.