The CJEU establishes that equal pay is for jobs “of equal value”. Requires discrimination to come from the same company. The ruling rejects that it can be invoked in workers from different establishments.
The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has indicated this Thursday that equal pay between men and women can be applied to the performance of the same job or “of equal value”, to the complaint of some workers, part of them women, from supermarkets in the United Kingdom due to lack of equal pay.
The court suspended the proceedings on the claims filed by male workers, considering that its outcome depended on the outcome of the claims of the female plaintiffs in the main proceedings.
In its ruling, the Luxembourg-based court ensures that the EU Functioning Treaty is not limited to situations in which compared workers of different sex perform the same job, but also extends to work situations of equal value.
The case dates back to a 2018 complaint by a group of workers from Tesco’s distribution network, who allege that their work and that of male workers employed by Tesco are of equal value and that they have the right to compare their work with that of these workers, even though such work is carried out in different establishments.
In this regard, the ruling issued yesterday by the CJEU indicates that if the conditions of remuneration can be attributed to a single source, the work and remuneration of these workers can be compared even when they work in different establishments.
Consequently, it defends that this provision can be invoked before the national courts. The Court considers that this interpretation is corroborated by the objective pursued by Article 157 of the Founding Treaty of the EU (TFEU).
Salary differences
The European Court of Justice indicates that, when the differences observed in the conditions of remuneration of workers who perform the same job or work of equal value are not attributable to a single source, there is an entity that is responsible for the inequality and that could restore equal treatment, so that this situation does not fall within the scope of Article 157 TFEU.
On the other hand, when such remuneration conditions can be attributed to a single source, the work and remuneration of these workers can be compared even when they work in different establishments.
Consequently, this provision may be invoked before the national courts in a dispute based on work of equal value performed by workers of the same sex who have the same employer in establishments other than that employer, provided that the latter constitutes said sole source.
