27In that context, it should be recalled that, according to the settled case-law of the Court, the term ‘worker’ within the meaning of Directive 2003/88 must be defined in accordance with objective criteria that distinguish the employment relationship by reference to the rights and duties of the persons concerned. So, any person who pursues real, genuine activities, to the exclusion of activities on such a small scale as to be regarded as purely marginal and ancillary, must be regarded as a ‘worker’. 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 (see, to that effect, judgments in Union syndicale Solidaires Isère, C‑428/09, EU:C:2010:612, paragraph 28, and Neidel, C‑337/10, EU:C:2012:263, paragraph 23).
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