A female physician was dismissed by her employer, a social security institution governed by public law according to its general policy (backed by the applicable collective agreement) to terminate the employment of all employees, both male and female, who satisfy the conditions for retiring them under the relevant law. This law sets out different normal pensionable ages (for men: 65; for women: 60). The female physician bringing an action against her former employer the Austrian Supreme Court (third instance of proceedings) decided to refer to CJ.

 

 

Article 3(1)(c) of Council Directive 76/207/EEC of 9 February 1976 on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women as regards access to employment, vocational training and promotion, and working conditions, as amended by Directive 2002/73/EC of the European Parliament and of the Council of 23 September 2002, must be interpreted as meaning that national rules which, in order to promote access of younger persons to employment, permit an employer to dismiss employees who have acquired the right to draw their retirement pension, when that right is acquired by women at an age five years younger than the age at which it is acquired by men, constitute direct discrimination on the grounds of sex prohibited by that directive.