Judgment of the Court Second Chamber of 3 June 2021, Tesco Stores, C-624/19

• Date: 03 June 2021
• Year: 2021

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In addition, the General Court states that, first, each criterion developed by the case-law, irrespective

of whether it is one of the original or the additional criteria, is only one criterion among others,

second, the criteria are autonomous, and third, the similarity between the goods or services at issue

may be based on a single criterion.

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Furthermore, although EUIPO is required to take into account all

the relevant factors relating to the goods concerned, it may disregard factors which are irrelevant to

the relationship between them.

In the light of the foregoing, the General Court concludes that the existence of a certain market

practice may constitute a relevant criterion for the purposes of examining the similarity between

goods or services in the context of Article 8(1)(b) of Regulation No 207/2009.

Lastly, since EUIPO did not examine the relevance and impact of the market practice criterion in its

assessment of the similarity between the goods at issue, the General Court finds that it cannot give a

ruling on that issue. Accordingly, on account of that error of law made by EUIPO and the failure to

state reasons in the contested decision as regards why criteria relating to the usual origin of goods

and distribution channels were not taken into account, the General Court annuls the contested

decision.

VIII. SOCIAL POLICY

Judgment of the Court (Second Chamber) of 3 June 2021, Tesco Stores, C-624/19

Link to the complete text of the judgment

Reference for a preliminary ruling – Social policy – Equal pay for male and female workers – Article 157

TFEU – Direct effect – Concept of ‘work of equal value’ – Claims seeking equal pay for work of equal value –

Single source – Workers of differe nt sex having the same employer – Diffe rent establishments –

Comparison

Tesco Stores is a retailer that sells its products online and in stores located in the United Kingdom.

The stores, of varying size, have a total of approximately 250 000 workers, who carry out various types

of jobs. That company also has a distribution network with approximately 11 000 employees, who

carry out various types of jobs. Approximately 6 000 employees or former employees of Tesco Stores,

both female and male, who work or used to work in its stores, brought proceedings against it before

the referring tribunal, the Watford Employment Tribunal (United Kingdom), from February 2018

onwards, on the ground that they had not enjoyed equal pay for male and female workers for equal

work, contrary to national legislation and Article 157 TFEU.

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The referring tribunal stayed the male

workers’ claims, since it took the view that their outcome depended on the outcome of the claims

brought by the female claimants in the main proceedings.

The female claimants in the main proceedings submit that their work and that of the male workers

employed by Tesco Stores in the distribution centres in its network are of equal value and that they

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In the light of the judgment of 21 January 2016, Hesse v OHIM (C-50 /15 P, EU:C:2016:34, paragraph 23).

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Under that provision, ‘each Member State shall ensure that the pri nciple of equal pay for male and female workers for equal work or work of

equal value is applied’.