The CJEU sees the calculation of part-time pensions as illegal for discriminating against women

The European Justice criticizes that the regulations are “especially disadvantageous” for women, who in Spain make up 75% of part-time workers

 The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) considers that the Spanish system for calculating retirement pensions for part-time workers is illegal if it is proven that the regulations are “especially disadvantageous” for women.

A citizen of Castilla y León challenged the calculation of the retirement pension carried out by the Social Security Institute, alleging that the difference in treatment with respect to full-time workers gives rise to indirect discrimination based on sex because the majority of part-time workers are women.

In the hands of the Superior Court of Justice

The community judges leave in the hands of the Superior Court of Justice of Castilla y León the decision on whether the distribution of part-time workers by sex that they have presented is “valid, representative and significant.” The CJEU points out that this disadvantage exists “when a regulation negatively affects a significantly higher proportion of people of one sex than that of people of the other sex.”

If the Spanish court, based on this data and other relevant elements, reaches the conclusion that the regulations place women in a “particularly less advantageous position than that of men”, it must rule that it is contrary to Community legislation. , "unless it is objectively justified."

When examining whether the Spanish regulations respond to a legitimate social policy purpose, the court observed that it includes two elements that can reduce the amount of retirement pensions for part-time workers. Specifically, the European Justice indicates that the first element of pension calculation, the regulatory base based on the contribution bases, is sufficient to protect a contributory Social Security system. Therefore, later applying a partiality coefficient “goes beyond what is necessary” and implies a greater reduction in pensions than if only their working hours are taken into account.