Ingrid Rinner-Kühn v FWW Spezial-Gebäudereinigung GmbH & Co. KG.

• Jurisdiction: European Union
• Court: Court of Justice (European Union)
• Writing for the Court: Zuleeg
• ECLI: ECLI:EU:C:1989:328
• Date: 13 July 1989
• Docket Number: 171/88
• Procedure Type: Reference for a preliminary ruling

Judgment of the Court (Sixth Chamber) of 13 July 1989. - Ingrid Rinner-Kühn v FWW Spezial-Gebäudereinigung GmbH & Co. KG. - Reference for a preliminary ruling: Arbeitsgericht Oldenburg - Germany. - Continued payment of wates in the event of illness - Exclusion of part-time workers - Article 119 of the EEC Treaty. - Case 171/88.

European Court reports 1989 Page 02743

Summary Parties Grounds Decision on costs Operative part

Keywords

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Social policy - Male and female workers - Equal pay - National legislation excluding certain part-time workers from the continued payment of wages in the event of illness - Exclusion affecting mainly female workers - Not permissible unless objectively justified

( EEC Treaty, Art . 119 )

Summary

Article 119 of the Treaty precludes national legislation which permits employers to exclude employees whose normal working hours do not exceed 10 hours a week or 45 hours a month from the continued payment of wages in the event of illness, if that measure affects a far greater number of women than men, unless the Member State shows that the legislation concerned is justified by objective factors unrelated to any discrimination on grounds of sex, which concern one of the essential aims of its social policy .

Parties

In Case C-171/88

REFERENCE to the Court under Article 177 of the EEC Treaty by the Arbeitsgericht ( Labour Court ) Oldenburg for a preliminary ruling in the proceedings pending before that court between

Ingrid Rinner-Kuehn

and

FWW Spezial-Gebaeudereinigung GmbH & Co . KG

on the interpretation of Article 119 of the EEC Treaty and of Council Directive 75/117/EEC of 10 February 1975 on the approximation of the laws of the Member States relating to the application of the principle of equal pay for men and women ( Official Journal 1975 No . L 45, p . 19 ),

THE COURT ( Sixth Chamber ),

composed of : T . Koopmans, President of the Chamber, T . F . O' Higgins, G . F . Mancini, C . N . Kakouris and F . A . Schockweiler, Judges,

Advocate General : M . Darmon

Registrar : J . A . Pompe, Deputy Registrar,

after considering the observations submitted on behalf of

Mrs Ingrid Rinner-Kuehn, the plaintiff in the main proceedings, by U . Heiser-Jesky, Legal Clerk to the German Federation of Trade Unions,

the Danish Government, in the only written procedure, by K . Wermuth, Legal Adviser, acting as Agent,

the Commission of the European Communities, by its Legal Adviser, J . Grunwald, acting as Agent,

having regard to the Report for the Hearing and further to the hearing on 2 March 1989,

after hearing the Opinion of the Advocate General delivered at the sitting on 19 April 1989,

gives the following

Judgment

Grounds

1 By an...