Additional (maternity) leave for women only? The Court of Justice refines its Hofmann test in Syndicat CFTC (C-463/19) yet forgets about the children
| Author | Petra Foubert,Alicia Hendricks |
| Published date | 01 December 2021 |
| Date | 01 December 2021 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1177/1023263X211034098 |
| Subject Matter | Case Notes |
Case Note
Additional (maternity) leave
for women only? The Court of
Justice refines its Hofmann test
in Syndicat CFTC (C-463/19) yet
forgets about the children
Petra Foubert* and Alicia Hendricks*
Abstract
Syndicat CFTC v. CPAM provided an excellent opportunity for the Court of Justice of the European
Union (‘CJEU’) to reconsider its position taken in the Hofmann case, regarding the question to
what extent additional maternity leave can be exclusively reserved for female workers without
infringing Directive 2006/54. Whilst the CJEU has narrowed the grey zone, it refrains from clearly
indicating the boundaries between ‘maternity’ and ‘parenthood’ and leaves that for the Member
States to decide. Against this backdrop, this case note argues that the CJEU should cease to
conflate both concepts, as it cements women into their traditional role as primary caregivers and
keeps men in a role subsidiary to that of women with respect to the exercise of parental
responsibilities. Ultimately, child-care related leave should be approached from a rights perspec-
tive, taking into account the best interests of the child.
Keywords
Equal treatment men-women, leave policies, discrimination, children’s rights
* School of Law, Hasselt University, Hasselt, Belgium
Corresponding authors:
Petra Foubert, School of Law, Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium.
E-mail: petra.foubert@uhasselt.be
Alicia Hendricks, School of Law, Hasselt University, Martelarenlaan 42, 3500 Hasselt, Belgium.
E-mail: alicia.hendricks@uhasselt.be
Maastricht Journal of European and
Comparative Law
ªThe Author(s) 2021
Article reuse guidelines:
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DOI: 10.1177/1023263X211034098
maastrichtjournal.sagepub.com
MJ
MJ
2021, Vol. 28(6) 908–918
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