CELEX: C2001/317/10
Language: en
Date: 2001-11-10 00:00:00
Title: Judgment of the Court (Fifth Chamber) of 4 October 2001 in Case C-109/00 (reference for a preliminary ruling from the Højesteret): Tele Danmark A/S v Handels- og Kontorfunktionærernes Forbund i Danmark (HK) (Equal treatment for men and women — Article 5(1) of Directive 76/207/EEC — Article 10 of Directive 92/85/EEC — Dismissal of a pregnant worker — Fixed-term employment contract)

C 317/6                   EN                    Official Journal of the European Communities                                       10.11.2001
1.    The involvement of a holding company in the management of            court between Tele Danmark A/S and Handels- og Kontorfunk-
      companies in which it has acquired a shareholding constitutes        tionærernes Forbund i Danmark (HK) — on the interpretation
      an economic activity within the meaning of Article 4(2) of the       of Article 5(1) of Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February
      Sixth Council Directive 77/388/EEC of 17 May 1977 on the             1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treat-
      harmonisation of the laws of the Member States relating to           ment for men and women as regards access to employment,
      turnover taxes — Common system of value added tax: uniform           vocational training and promotion, and working conditions
      basis of assessment, where it entails carrying out transactions      (OJ 1976 L 39, p. 40) and Article 10 of Council Directive
      which are subject to value added tax by virtue of Article 2 of       92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the introduction of
      that directive, such as the supply by a holding company to           measures to encourage improvements in the safety and health
      its subsidiaries of administrative, financial, commercial and        at work of pregnant workers and workers who have recently
      technical services.                                                  given birth or are breastfeeding (tenth individual Directive
                                                                           within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC)
2.    Expenditure incurred by a holding company in respect of the          (OJ 1992 L 348, p. 1) — the Court (Fifth Chamber), composed
      various services which it purchases in connection with the           of: A. La Pergola, President of the Chamber, M. Wathelet
      acquisition of a shareholding in a subsidiary forms part of its      (Rapporteur), P. Jann, L. Sevón and C.W.A. Timmermans,
      general costs and therefore has, in principle, a direct and          Judges; D. Ruı́z-Jarabo Colomer, Advocate General; H. von
      immediate link with its business as a whole. Thus, if the holding    Holstein, Deputy Registrar, for the Registrar, has given a
      company carries out both transactions in respect of which value      judgment on 4 October 2001, in which it has ruled:
      added tax is deductible and transactions in respect of which it is
      not, it follows from the first subparagraph of Article 17(2) of
      the Sixth Directive 77/388 that it may deduct only that
      proportion of the value added tax which is attributable to the
                                                                           1.   Article 5(1) of Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February
      former.
                                                                                1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment
                                                                                for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational
3.    The receipt of dividends does not fall within the scope of value          training and promotion, and working conditions and Article 10
      added tax.                                                                of Council Directive 92/85/EEC of 19 October 1992 on the
                                                                                introduction of measures to encourage improvements in the
(1) OJ C 79 of 18.3.2000.
                                                                                safety and health at work of pregnant workers and workers who
                                                                                have recently given birth or are breastfeeding (tenth individual
                                                                                Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive
                                                                                89/391/EEC) are to be interpreted as precluding a worker from
                                                                                being dismissed on the ground of pregnancy
                  JUDGMENT OF THE COURT                                         —     where she was recruited for a fixed period,
                           (Fifth Chamber)
                                                                                —     she failed to inform the employer that she was pregnant
                                                                                      even though she was aware of this when the contract of
                          of 4 October 2001                                           employment was concluded,
in Case C-109/00 (reference for a preliminary ruling
from the Højesteret): Tele Danmark A/S v Handels- og
    Kontorfunktionærernes Forbund i Danmark (HK) (1)                            —     and because of her pregnancy she was unable to work
                                                                                      during a substantial part of the term of that contract.
(Equal treatment for men and women — Article 5(1) of
Directive 76/207/EEC — Article 10 of Directive 92/85/EEC
— Dismissal of a pregnant worker — Fixed-term employ-                      2.   The fact that the worker has been recruited by a very large
                             ment contract)                                     undertaking which employs temporary workers frequently is of
                                                                                no relevance to the interpretation of Article 5(1) of Directive
                                                                                76/207 and Article 10 of Directive 92/85.
                           (2001/C 317/10)
                    (Language of the case: Danish)
(Provisional translation; the definitive translation will be published     (1) OJ C 149 of 27.5.2000.
                    in the European Court Reports)
In Case C-109/00: reference to the Court under Article 234
EC from the Højesteret (Supreme Court, Denmark) for a
preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that