Equal pay

Case 18: The facts

When Mr Hlozek was made redundant at the age of 54, he was not entitled to a bridging allowance which, under a social plan agreement concluded with the union, was payable to men at the age of 55 and to women at the age of 50. If Hlozek had been female he would have received the allowance; he argued that this amounted to sex discrimination.

The ruling

The ECJ held that the provision in the social plan agreement was not discriminatory. Men and women were in different situations under the statutory early-retirement pension provisions, which were relevant to the granting of the allowance.

The terms of the bridging allowance had been introduced to take account of evidence that women made redundant over the age of 50 were more likely to remain out of work than men of the same age.

Hlozek v Roche Austria European Court of Justice Case C-19/02