Dominguez v Centre informatique du Centre Ouest Atlantique - annual leave entitlement cannot be subject to preconditions

A worker's entitlement to annual leave cannot be made subject to any preconditions whatsoever. Member states may set national rules on how the entitlement is actually exercised, but laws such as a requirement to actually work 10 days before the entitlement even arises breach the Working Time Directive.

Furthermore, the Working Time Directive has "direct effect" in national law, meaning that it can be directly enforced by public sector employees.