Abstract

On 27 June 2024, the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) ruled - in case C-284/23 - that Articles 10 and 12 of Directive 92/85 of 19 October 1992 by the European Parliament and the Council regarding implementation of means supporting improvement of safety and health of pregnant workers, who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding (tenth individual Directive within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 89/391/EEC), must be interpreted as: precluding national provisions according to which a pregnant worker, who learns of her pregnancy only after the expiry of the period laid down for appealing against the notice of termination, may effectively submit such an appeal only if, within a period of two weeks, she submits an application for the admission of an action brought out of time, since the procedural rules relating to that application for admission, in so far as they entail inconveniences that may excessively hamper implementation of the rights of pregnant women under Article 10 of that directive, do not meet the requirements of the principle of effectiveness. It should be noted that Directive 92/85 does not define the legal concept of “worker”. For this reason, the term does not appear in the CJEU judgment issued in case C-284/23. The final recitals of this directive stated that “actions aimed at organizing work related to the protection of pregnant workers, workers who have recently given birth or are breastfeeding would be pointless if they were not accompanied by the preservation of the rights arising from the employment contract and/or the right to appropriate benefits.” In modern times, it should be understood that legal protection of pregnant women and after caring for newborn children is available not only to employees performing work under an employment relationship but also to mothers “harmed by failure to fulfill the obligations arising from this Directive” (Article 12 Directive 92/85).