Ms Parvianen worked for Finnair as an air hostess. After she fell pregnant, she was moved to work as ground staff in order to comply with health and safety regulations designed to protect mothers and their unborn babies.

After the change of position, she was paid a basic salary and allowance for ground staff, which effectively meant that her earnings dropped by around a third. Ms Parvianen argued that under the EC Pregnant Worker’s Directive and Finnish law, she was entitled to receive the same salary level as she had when working as cabin crew. The Finnish court referred the matter to the European Court of Justice.

The Advocate General accepted that Ms Parvianen’s role in the cabin crew exposed herself and her unborn child to health risks, and that Finnair had done its duty in transferring her to a different role. The core of the case was whether Article 11 of the Pregnant Worker’s Directive entitled her to the same level of pay she had enjoyed before.

The relevant passage of the Directive reads: “the employment rights relating to the employment contract, including the maintenance of a payment to, and/or entitlement to an adequate allowance for [pregnant workers], must be ensured in accordance with national legislation and/or national practice”.

The AG determined that the amount of payment pregnant workers receive should be a matter for each individual member state, and that the only requirement is that the payment should be “adequate”, meaning that it should be at least equivalent to the payment received by a male or female worker doing the same job.

She was not required by law to receive the same level of salary as she was on before her transfer. Allowances that a worker receives before they are pregnant that are related to their status, seniority or professional qualifications should continue to be paid, but any payments related to their old job do not have to be paid if they change to another job.

Technorati Tags: European Court of Justice, Pregnancy rights, Pregnant Worker's Directive