Protection of Part-time Workers in the Case Law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities

Abstract

Abstract: The author examines 20 years of case law of the Court of Justice of the European Communities on part-time work. The 25 judgments are scrutinized on the basis of homogenous areas of the employment relationship such as pay, access to career advancement, access to vocational training, working conditions including conditions of dismissal, occupational pension schemes and statutory social security allowances. The Court has applied former Article 119 of the Treaty and provisions of Community Directives on equal treatment between men and women at work since it has consistently found that many more women than men are employed on a part-time basis. The overall picture which emerges from the cases brought before the Court of Justice appears to give rise to concern because discrimination relates to a wide range of working conditions, affecting mainly low-skilled workers, and derives from both national laws or regulations and collective agreements signed by trade unions representatives. As a result, detailed and enforceable Community rules appear to be indispensable to ensure adequate legal protection for part-time workers.