Brussels, 18/07/2014 (Agence Europe) - Under French law, civil servants who are the parents of at least three children may opt for early retirement with immediate payment of pension if they have taken a career break of at least two consecutive months for each child. Women are more likely than men to comply with these rules and the scheme therefore discriminates against men, ruled the European Court of Justice on 17 July in Case C-173/13.
This French law covers various forms of career break, such as maternity leave, paternity leave, parental leave or adoption. This type of career break also provides credits for calculating pension entitlements. It was only after the European Court of Justice judgment in a previous case (C-366/99) that France allowed male civil servants to benefit from the same advantages as women.
The Court states that notwithstanding the appearance of neutrality, the criterion used in the French rules leads to discrimination against men given the mandatory nature and minimum two-month duration of maternity leave under French law, because paternity leave is not compulsory and is not for a minimum of two months. The types of leave available to male civil servants are optional and, in some cases, lead to a loss of pay and accumulation of pension rights.
The Court of Justice concludes that this difference in treatment under French law is not justified. Wanting to compensate for the disadvantages in one's civil service career if one has children is a legitimate social policy objective, but it must be implemented coherently and systematically. (JK)