32In that respect, it is settled case-law that the concept of worker has a specific Community meaning and must not be interpreted narrowly. It must be defined in accordance with objective criteria which distinguish an employment relationship by reference to the rights and duties of the persons concerned. In order to be treated as a worker, a person must pursue an activity which is genuine and effective, to the exclusion of activities on such a small scale as to be regarded as purely marginal and ancillary. The essential feature of an employment relationship is that for a certain period of time a person performs services for and under the direction of another person in return for which he receives remuneration. By contrast, neither the sui generis nature of the employment relationship under national law, nor the level of productivity of the person concerned, the origin of the funds from which the remuneration is paid or the limited amount of the remuneration can have any consequence in regard to whether or not the person is a worker for the purposes of Community law (see, as regards Article 48 of the Treaty, in particular Case 66/85 Lawrie-Blum [1986] ECR 2121, paragraphs 16 and 17; Case 197/86 Brown [1988] ECR 3205, paragraph 21; Case 344/87 Bettray [1989] ECR 1621, paragraphs 15 and 16; Case C-357/89 Raulin [1992] ECR I-1027, paragraph 10; and Case C-3/90 Bernini [1992] ECR I-1071, paragraphs 14 to 17; and, as regards Article 6(1) of Decision No 1/80, Case C-36/96 Günaydin [1997] ECR I-5143, paragraph 31, Case C-98/96 Ertanir [1997] ECR I-5179, paragraph 43, and Birden, paragraphs 25 and 28).
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