Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:1998:577
Date: 1998-12-01
Language of the case: English
Court formation: Full Court
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Social Policy
Concepts: Equality for men and women
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: United Kingdom

Summary of the Judgment
1. Social policy — Men and women— Equal pay — Remedies for breach of the prohibition of
discrimination —National procedural rules — Compliance with the principle of the effective­
ness of Community law — Whether it is possible to contest a worker's claim by relying on
national legislation which places limitations on the right to obtain pay arrears or damages —
Not permissible on the facts
(EC Treaty, Art. 119; Council Directive 75/117)
I - 7835
SUMMARY — CASE C-326/96
2. Social policy — Men and women — Equal pay — Remedies for breach of the prohibition of
discrimination — National procedural rules — Compliance with the principle of equivalence,
namely that conditions f or obtaining pay arrears or damages must not be less favourable than
those governing similar domestic actions — To be determined by the national courts
(EC Treaty, Art. 119; Council Directive 75/117)
1. Community law precludes the application
of a rule of national law which limits an
employee's entitlement to arrears of remu­
neration or damages for breach of the
principle of equal pay to a period of two
years prior to the date on which the pro­
ceedings were instituted, there being no
possibility of extending that period, where
the delay in bringing a claim is attribut­
able to the fact that the employer deliber­
ately misrepresented to the employee the
level of remuneration received by persons
of the opposite sex performing like work.
To allow an employer whose deceit has
caused a worker to delay in bringing an
equal pay claim to rely on a national rule
restricting the right to obtain pay arrears
to two years before the initiation of the
action would be manifestly incompatible
with the principle of effectiveness. Appli­
cation of the national rule would be likely
to make it virtually impossible or exces­
sively difficult to obtain arrears of remu­
neration in respect of sex discrimination.
The employee so informed would have no
way of determining whether he was being
discriminated against or, if so, to what
extent. Consequently, by relying on the
rule at issue in that situation, the employer
would be able to deprive his employee of
the means provided for by Directive 75/117
on the approximation of the laws of the
Member States relating to the application
of the principle of equal pay for men and
women of enforcing the principle of equal
pay before the courts.
2. Community law precludes the application
of a rule of national law which limits an
employee's entitlement to arrears of remu­
neration or damages for breach of the
principle of equal pay to a period of two
years prior to the date on which the pro­
ceedings were instituted, even when
another remedy is available, if the latter is
likely to entail procedural rules or other
conditions which are less favourable than
those applicable to similar domestic
actions. It is for the national court to
determine whether that is the case.
I - 7836