SOCIAL POLICY : COURT CLARIFIES RIGHTS OF PREGNANT WORKERS.

Workers given leave from work or transferred to another job because of pregnancy are entitled to their basic monthly pay and the supplementary allowances attached to their occupational status, such as those relating to seniority, lnegth of service or professional qualifications. However, they can not claim the allowances and supplements which are intended to compensate for the disadvantages related to the performance of specific tasks in particular circumstances, where they do not actually perform those tasks, the EU Court of Justice ruled, on 1 July, in response to requests from the courts in Austria and Finland,aboth faced with complaints related to income to be paid to workers during their pregnancy or maternity leave.aThis issue is regulated by Directive 92/85/EC on maternity leave.

In Austria (C-194/08), Susanne Gassmayrareceived an allowance for on-call duty at the workplace for extra hours that she worked. She stopped working during her pregnancy,aon the basis of a medical certificate, and then took maternity...