SUPREME COURT UPDATE | Judgment no. 27711/2023
Supreme Court judgment no. 27711, published on 2 October 2023, addressed the constitutional requirement that remuneration be proportionate and sufficient.
The Court confirmed that the salary tables of a collective agreement are an important benchmark but not an irrebuttable safe harbour. A judge may assess whether the resulting pay satisfies Article 36 of the Constitution and may consider other representative agreements and objective indicators.
This matters where an employer selects a collective agreement offering markedly lower pay than agreements normally associated with the sector. Formal application can still leave exposure to salary-difference claims.
International employers should test the chosen CCNL against the actual business and labour market, verify employee classification and examine the total mandatory package. Cost savings based on a weak collective framework can become retrospective liabilities.