A national collective agreement may only grant mothers additional maternity leave if can be demonstrated that the aim of the maternity leave is to protect female employees in relation to the effects of pregnancy and motherhood. This was the conclusion of the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in a judgment published on Wednesday 18 November (Case C-463/19).
In this case, the CFTC union, which was representing the staff of the Caisse primaire d’assurance maladie (CPAM) de la Moselle, challenged the refusal by the CPAM de la Moselle to grant the father of a child the leave granted to female staff members who bring up their children on their own, as provided for in the National Collective Labour Agreement for staff of social security bodies.
The Metz industrial tribunal, to which the case was referred by the CFTC, asked the CJEU whether Union law excludes the possibility of granting female staff members who bring up their children on their own three months’ leave on half pay, or one and a half month’s leave on full pay and one year’s unpaid leave, following the end of maternity leave.
In its judgment, the Court begins by emphasising that the 2006 directive on the implementation of the principle of equal opportunities and equal treatment of men and women in matters of employment and occupation prohibits all direct or indirect discrimination on grounds of sex in relation to employment and working conditions.
The Court states, however, that, after the expiry of the statutory maternity leave, a Member State may grant additional leave to the mother of the child where that leave concerns her, not in her capacity as parent, but in connection with the effects of pregnancy and motherhood.
The Court is of the opinion that such additional leave must be intended to “protect the woman’s biological condition and the special relationship between her and her child during the period following childbirth”.
The Court goes on to point out that a collective agreement which excludes from the benefit of such additional leave a male worker who is bringing up a child on his own establishes a difference in treatment between male and female workers.
The Court concludes that it is only if such a difference in treatment seeks the protection of the mother in connection with the effects of pregnancy and motherhood that it appears to be compatible with the directive.
The Court states that this is for the referring court to ascertain, taking into account, inter alia, the conditions for entitlement to the leave, its length and modalities of enjoyment, and the legal protection that attaches to that period of leave.
The judgment can be found at: https://bit.ly/2IOjPKU (Original version in French by Marion Fontana)