Brussels, 29/10/2009 (Agence Europe) - Luxembourg employment legislation discriminates against pregnant women, according to a ruling delivered by the Court of Justice of the European Communities on Thursday 29 October. While, in Luxembourg, it is illegal to fire a pregnant woman, in line with Community law, the time that women have to lodge a complaint against such dismissals is too short to provide effective protection, the Court says.
Ms Virginie Pontin, employed in Luxembourg, and pregnant at the time of the facts, waited almost three months before lodging a complaint against her dismissal in 2007. Luxembourg law allows only a maximum of 15 days. The Esch-sur-Alzette Employment Tribunal (Luxembourg), which was hearing the case, asked the European Court about the conformity of this time restriction. The Court acknowledged that the time was “excessively short”, especially “for obtaining proper advice” or taking the necessary legal steps. This, the Court says, would not seem to be in line with directive 92/85/EEC on the rights of pregnant workers. The ruling also criticises a further restriction on the rights of pregnant Luxembourg workers: they can only seek re-employment within their former company, when any other sacked worker could make a claim for damages. This discrimination could constitute an infringement of the principle of equal treatment for men and women, a principle enshrined in directive 76/207/EEC.
The Court says that it is for the national courts to assess the legislation at issue since it “alone has direct knowledge of the procedural rules governing actions in the field of domestic law”. Firstly, however, it would seem that Luxembourg should review its legislation in this area. (C.D./transl.rt)