ECJ: Wrongful Dismissal of Pregnant Worker

[ILJ_Digest]

In Case C-63/08, Virginie Pontin v T-Comalux SA (29 October 2009) the European Court of Justice (ECJ) ruled that a 15 day time bar on claims for wrongful dismissal due to pregnancy was to brief to meet the standard of the principle of effective judicial protection of an individual’s rights under Community law. Articles 10 and 12 of Council Directive 92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992 and Article 2 of Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 provide the substantive basis for EU* protection of women’s rights particularly with respect to the workplace.* EU Directives set out binding policy goals to be implemented by the Member States leaving the means to those ends to be implemented by the Member States through national legislation. The Directives here set out goals for workplace safety, maternity leave, and prohibitions of dismissal of workers, as well as establishing redress mechanisms. In the case at bar the remedy under national law for wrongful dismissal was time barred after just 15 days from posting of notice of dismissal. The ECJ found that time bar likely too brief to meet the demands of the Pregnant Worker’s Directive, strongly implying the 15 day time limit in Luxembourgeois law failed to meet the demands of the general principle of effective judicial protection and therefore also implying that this very brief time delay was an inadequate implementation by the Member State (Luxembourg) of the EU Directives finding for plaintiff.

For more information:
Synopsis:
Full text of Case C?63/08.