CJEU Case C-16/19 | VL v Szpital Kliniczny im. dra J. Babińskiego Samodzielny Publiczny Zakład Opieki Zdrowotnej w Krakowie

Summary:

Information Guide concerning Case C-16/19 from the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU), which relates to discrimination on grounds of disability in the context of employment.

Further information:

An individual was employment by a Polish hospital from October 2011 to September 2016. In December 2011, the person obtained a disability certificate which was promptly submitted to the employer. At a meeting with staff in 2013, the Directive of the hospital decided to grant a monthly allowance to employees who, following that meeting, submitted certificates attesting to their disabilities. The aim was to reduce contributions payable by the hospital to the State Fund for the Rehabilitation of Persons with Disabilities (Państwowy Fundusz Rehabilitacji Osób Niepełnosprawnych - PFRON). On the basis of that decision, the allowance was granted but only for those who had submitted their certificates following that meeting, not for those who had done it previously.

The action brought by the individual against the employer was dismissed at first instance. An appeal was brought before the Kraków Regional Court (Sąd Okręgowy w Krakowie), which showed doubts over the interpretation of Article 2 of Directive 2000/78. It therefore decided to refer a question to the CJEU in 2019 - it sought to ascertain whether the practice adopted by an employer and consisting in the exclusion of workers with disabilities, who have already submitted disability certificates to that employer before the date chosen by that employer for the submission of such a certificate, from receiving an allowance paid to workers with disabilities may constitute discrimination for the purposes of that provision.

The Court of Justice ruled on 26 January 2021 that the practice adopted by an employer and consisting in the payment of an allowance only to workers with disabilities who have submitted disability certificates after a date chosen by that employer may constitute direct or indirect discrimination on the grounds of disability.

Official

CJEU CURIA: Case C-16/19 | Szpital Kliniczny im. dra J. Babińskiego Samodzielny Publiczny Zakład Opieki Zdrowotnej w Krakowie http://curia.europa.eu/juris/documents.jsf?num=C-16/19

CJEU: Press Release No 9/21, 26/01/2021: Judgment in Case C-16/19 VL v Szpital Kliniczny im. dra J. Babińskiego Samodzielny Publiczny Zakład Opieki Zdrowotnej w Krakowie https://curia.europa.eu/jcms/upload/docs/application/pdf/2021-01/cp210009en.pdf

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