The Rome Convention of 19 June 1980 on the law applicable to contractual obligations (approved by Luxembourg by a Law of 27 March 1986), which entered into force on 1 April 1991 and applies to contracts concluded between 1 April 1991 and 17 December 2009, consecrated the role of autonomy of will whereby the parties are authorised to choose the law applicable to their contract (law of autonomy).
That principle of autonomy of the will of the parties was taken up by EC Regulation No 593/2008 of 17 June 2008 (Rome I) on the law applicable to contractual obligations, which entered into force in all the Member States of the EU (apart from the special case of Denmark) and which applies to contracts concluded after 17 December 2009.
However, notwithstanding the freedom of the parties to choose the law applicable to an employment contract, that choice of applicable law cannot have the effect of depriving an employee of the protection available to him under the binding provisions of the law which would be applicable if no choice were made.
According to consistent case law, the intention of the parties to refer to a national law other than that of the country in which the employment contract is performed, is only lawful to the extent to which the law chosen is more advantageous for the employee.
The aim pursued is to protect employees against the unfair ousting of the applicable law in the country where the employment contract is performed. The provisions of the law of the place of execution of the contract constitute a minimum for the employee, of which he cannot be deprived by the effect of a law deemed to have been autonomously imposed by the employer.