14It must be recalled at the outset that the Court has consistently held that the concept of worker within the meaning of Article 48 of the EEC Treaty has a specific Community meaning. To come within the definition of worker a person must pursue an activity which is effective and genuine to the exclusion of activities on such a small scale as to be regarded as purely marginal and ancillary. The essential characteristic of the employment relationship is that for a certain period a person performs services for and under the direction of another person in return for which he receives remuneration (see in particular the judgment in Case 197/86 Brown v Secretary of State for Scotland [1988] ECR 3205, paragraph 21).
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