In its judgment of 9 July 2026 (Case C-768/24, Hortis), the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) clarified that, where the parties to an employment contract choose the applicable law, a national court may give precedence to the chosen law, even to the detriment of more protective mandatory provisions under the law that would have applied in the absence of such a choice, where the contract has a closer connection with the country whose law was chosen by the parties.
The CJEU further clarified that, in determining whether there is a “closer connection” with another country, the national court must carry out an overall assessment of all objective factors characterising the employment relationship, including those arising from the parties’ choice of applicable law, and must give appropriate weight to those factors.