Judgment — ECLI:EU:C:2014:99
Date: 2014-02-27
Language of the case: Dutch
Court formation: Third Chamber
Subject matter: Social Policy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Belgium

Summary — Judgment of the Court (Third Chamber), 27 February 2014 1. Social policy — Male and female workers — Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by ETUC, UNICE and CEEP — Directive 96/34 — Employer unilaterally and without compelling or sufficient reason terminating a worker’s full-time contract of indefinite duration — Worker on part-time parental leave — Fixed-sum protective award payable to the worker — Determination on the basis of the reduced salary earned by that worker at the time of his dismissal — Unlawful (Council Directive 96/34, as amended by Directive 97/75, Annex, Clauses 2.4 and 2.6) 2. Social policy — Male and female workers — Framework Agreement on parental leave concluded by ETUC, UNICE and CEEP — Directive 96/34 — Concept of rights acquired or in the process of being acquired — Scope (Council Directive 96/34, as amended by Directive 97/75, Annex, Clause 2.6) 1. On a proper construction of clause 2.4 of the framework agreement on parental leave which is set out in the annex to Directive 96/34 on the framework agreement on parental leave concluded by UNICE, CEEP and the ETUC, as amended by Directive 97/75, read in the light both of the objectives thereof and of clause 2.6 thereof, it is contrary to that provision for the fixed-sum protective award payable to a worker on part-time parental leave, where the employer unilaterally and without compelling or sufficient reason terminates that worker’s full-time contract of indefinite duration, to be determined on the basis of the reduced salary earned by that worker at the date of the dismissal. When a worker has unlawfully been dismissed during part-time parental leave, a fixed-term protective award, provided for by the national legislation, must, in order to satisfy the requirements of the Framework Agreement, be determined on the basis of the full-time salary of that worker. If not, that fixed-sum protective award, while being a protective measure within the meaning of clause 2.4 of the Framework Agreement, which aims to protect workers against dismissal on the grounds of an application for, or the taking of, parental leave, would lose a great part of its effectiveness. Such a method of determining the amount of that fixed-sum award, based on the reduced salary earned during the part-time parental leave, would be likely not to have a deterrent effect sufficient to prevent the dismissal of workers on part-time parental leave. (see paras 35, 38, 47, 48, operative part) 2. See the text of the decision. (see paras 44, 45)