Euro Court of Justice:higher pay for longer service: implications for Maternity Leave

I note a high court ruling in the EU was on the radio this morning so it soon will be allowable to discriminate on the basis of service - so if a woman goes out on for 6 months to have a baby then the guy who started the same time will have a longer service and therefore more money - because he didn't go have a baby

Re: unfair treatment at work.

nelly as far a I know maternity leave does not affect service.

Re: unfair treatment at work.

t'was on the radio this morning, lyric FM. Mat leave will not now, under this new directive, be included in service hense the reason it was on the news. It seems to be discriminating on the basis of service lenght, which is technically not discrimination as it is not one of the 9 set discriminatory factors.

Re: Discrimination based on service: implications for Maternity Leave

http://euobserver.com/9/22557

Re: Discrimination based on service: implications for Maternity Leave

It would presumably also depend on the company.

I suppose the rationale is that contraception exists and a degree of choice exists for women, so its ok technically to penalise somebody who has chosen (even temporarily) family committments over work.

Also in fairness, if somebody has been out of work for significant periods due to having children and taken the full level of leave, they would technically not have the same level of experience.

Re: Discrimination based on service: implications for Maternity Leave

The following BBC article clarifies the ruling. Contrary to what was reported, maternity leave does not constitute a break in the contract and therefore counts as far as length of service is concerned.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/5405986.stm

Re: Discrimination based on service: implications for Maternity Leave

The real issue here is....

women's employment is interrupted by career breaks for children

Click to expand...

Or at least more commonly interrupted than male counterparts.

Not....

It does not mean, as some have suggested, that women who take maternity leave will be put at a disadvantage in terms of pay.

Click to expand...

Many articles/news reports have confused this ruling (re time in post vs. pay) with issues to do with maternity leave (which still counts as service - as pointed out by Ajapale and Diziet).