Part-time workers

Case 13: The facts

Edeltraud Elsner-Lakeberg was a part-time teacher in Germany. Her terms and conditions were governed by national legislation stating that, where teachers were required to work overtime, they would only get paid for additional work exceeding three hours per month. She brought an equal pay claim which was referred to the ECJ.

The ruling

Although the treatment appeared to be the same for full-time and part-time teachers, in fact it was more onerous for a part-time teacher to work the extra three hours per month. Elsner-Lakeberg normally worked 60 hours per month, compared with her full-time colleagues who worked 98 hours – so the additional three hours represented 5% extra for her but only 3% for them. This constituted a difference in treatment.

The ECJ held that, if the disproportionate effect on part-time workers affects considerably more women than men and cannot be objectively justified, equal pay law precludes the legislation from applying.

Elsner-Lakeberg v Land Nordrhein-Westfalen C-285/02