Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2009:381
Date: 2009-06-18
Language of the case: German
Court formation: Third Chamber
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Principles, objectives and tasks of the Treaties;Social Policy
Concepts: General
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Austria

Summary of the Judgment Social policy – Equal treatment in employment and occupation – Directive 2000/78 (Council Directive 2000/78, Arts 1, 2 and 6) Articles 1, 2 and 6 of Directive 2000/78 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment and occupation must be interpreted as precluding national legislation which, in order not to treat general education less favourably than vocational education and to promote the integration of young apprentices into the labour market, excludes periods of employment completed before the age of 18 from being taken into account for the purpose of determining the incremental step at which contractual public servants of a Member State are graded. Even if aims of that kind must, in principle, be considered to justify objectively and reasonably, within the context of national law, as provided in the first subparagraph of Article 6(1) of Directive 2000/78, a difference in treatment on the ground of age prescribed by Member States, such legislation cannot, however, be regarded as appropriate for achieving those aims within the meaning of that provision. The criterion of the age at which the vocational experience was acquired does not appear appropriate for achieving the aim of not treating general education less favourably than vocational education, as that criterion applies irrespective of the type of education pursued. As regards the aim of promoting integration into the labour market of young people who have pursued a vocational education, such national legislation, since it does not take into account people’s age at the time of their recruitment, is not appropriate for the purposes of promoting the entry into the labour market of a category of workers defined by their youth. (see paras 43, 48-51, operative part)