Contract workers protected

The European Court of Justice has ruled that women workers on short-term contracts may not be dismissed because they are pregnant but have the same rights as permanent employees.

The court found in favour of a Danish woman who was sacked when her boss discovered that she was pregnant and that her baby was due before the end of her contract. It found that laws prohibiting employers from sacking women because they are pregnant apply regardless of the duration of the employee's contract.

The court's ruling, which cannot be appealed, must be applied in all 15 EU member-states.

In a separate case, the court asked Spain's national court to determine whether a Spanish city council declined to renew a woman's contract for a fifth time because she became pregnant.

The judges said that an employer could choose not to renew an employee's contract but that this could be regarded as discriminatory if the case involved a suitably qualified woman and the decision was made because she was pregnant.