43A reference period may be defined in that context as a set period within which a certain number of consecutive rest hours must be provided irrespective of when those rest hours are granted. That definition is borne out, mutatis mutandis, by a combined reading of Articles 16(b) and 22(1)(a) of Directive 2003/88. Under the first provision, the Member States may lay down, for the application of Article 6 of that directive, a reference period not exceeding four months. The second provision provides that no employer may require a worker to work more than 48 hours over a seven-day period, calculated as an average for the reference period referred to in Article 16(b). Thus, an equal division of the number of work hours is not required.
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