Opinion of the Advocate General — ECLI:EU:C:2004:229
Date: 2004-04-27
Language of the case: German
Based on: Treaty establishing the European Economic Community (1957)
Subject matter: Social Policy
Procedure: Reference for a preliminary ruling
Origin: Germany

Summary of the Judgment Social policy – Men and women – Access to employment and working conditions – Equal treatment – Collective agreement providing for classification in a higher salary grade on completion of a qualifying period – Account taken of periods of maternity leave – Refusal to take account, because of its duration, of the whole of a period of maternity leave taken under the legislation of the former German Democratic Republic – Not permissible (Council Directive 76/207) Directive 76/207 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions precludes a collective agreement from excluding from a qualifying period for access to a higher salary grade the part of the period for which a female worker took maternity leave, under the legislation of the former German Democratic Republic, which exceeds the protected period provided for by the legislation of the Federal Republic of Germany to which that agreement refers, where the objectives and purpose of both periods of leave are the protection of women as regards pregnancy and maternity, as provided for by Article 2(3) of that directive. (see para. 59, operative part)