ECJ: More Time for Pregnant Employees to Challenge Dismissal

Jul 12, 2024 Benn-Ibler Rechtsanwälte

The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has been asked to rule on the time frame pregnant women have to contest being dismissed, in order to comply with the EU Directive on pregnant workers (Directive 92/85/EEC).

The plaintiff had been employed by the defendant on the basis of a contract of employment for a fixed term of one year from August 2022. At the end of October of that year, the plaintiff’s employment contract was terminated, and at the beginning of November she found out that she was seven weeks pregnant. In December 2022, stating that she had been pregnant at the time of her dismissal, the plaintiff brought an action against her dismissal before the Labour Court of Mainz (Germany).

However, the normal time limit of three weeks from receipt of the notice of dismissal for filing an appeal had already expired. Furthermore, the plaintiff failed to apply to allow a late appeal within the prescribed two weeks. As a result, the Labour Court of Mainz decided to suspend the proceedings and to refer the matter to the ECJ for a preliminary ruling. The question was whether the above-mentioned short time frames were compatible with the protected legal position of pregnant women, as base on the Directive.

The ECJ ruled as follows:

The time limits, in particular the two-week time limit for termination of the contract in the event of not knowing about the pregnancy, are not compatible with the Directive. This is particularly the case when considering the two-week period compared to the regular three-week period. The Court based its position primarily on the difficult situation in which a pregnant woman finds herself at the beginning of a pregnancy. It is particularly difficult to obtain appropriate advice at that time and to submit an application for the admission of the belated claim and to bring the actual action. The effectiveness of the legal protection provided by the Directive is therefore not sufficiently guaranteed by the short limitation periods in German law.

ECJ C‑284/23 (27 June 2024)