Press Release: Judgment in Case C-222/14 – Konstantinos Maïstrellis v Ypourgos Dikaiosynis, Diafaneias kai Anthropinon Dikaiomaton

Parental leave is an individual right which cannot depend on the situation of the spouse.

By this judgment, the Court of Justice answers that national legislation cannot deprive a male civil servant of the right to parental leave on the ground that his wife does not work or exercise any profession.

By prohibiting a male civil servant whose wife does not work from taking parental leave, Greek legislation is incompatible with EU law.

The vast bulk of EU legislation and case law on sex discrimination aims to facilitate women’s access to employment, and their equal treatment within the workplace. However, in this CJEU ruling in Maistrellis approaches these issues from an unusual angle: the access of a father to parental leave, in a case where the mother of his children was not working or seeking paid work at all. The judgment raises interesting questions about the role that EU employment and discriminaton law plays in family life.

• Primary Source

Blog: EU Law Analysis, 17.07.15: Slipping through our fingers: the CJEU rules on the value of parenthood in EU law http://eulawanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2015/07/slipping-through-our-fingers-cjeu-rules.html

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