Activites

• 1997/02/17 Final act published in Official Journal
  • Directive 1996/97
  • OJ L 046 17.02.1997, p. 0020
• #1983
• 1996/12/20 Council Meeting
• 1996/12/20 End of procedure in Parliament
• 1996/12/20 Act adopted by Council after consultation of Parliament
• #1974
• 1996/12/02 Council Meeting
• 1996/11/19 Modified legislative proposal published
  • COM(1996)0605 summary

    In its modified proposal the Commission could not accept all the amendments adopted by Parliament since most went beyond the Court's case-law (especially those concerning unisex actuarial calculation for employers' contributions). However, it accepted certain amendments, relating principally to the explicit inclusion of part-time workers ('atypical work contract') in the scope of the Directive. It also accepted: - an amendment relating to periods of leave (it concerns discrimination regarding the acquisition of rights during periods of any kind of leave and not only in cases of maternity leave or leave for family reasons); - an amendment stipulating that men and women may claim a flexible pensionable age under the same conditions; - an amendment seeking to add periods of paid leave to the periods of employment covered by the Directive. This is added in order to specify that benefits derived from periods of paid leave should be covered as well as benefits derived from periods of actual work. �

• 1996/11/12 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T4-0573/1996 summary

    In adopting the report by Mrs Helena TORRES MARQUES (PSE, P), Parliament approved the amendment of the 1986 Directive concerning equal treatment for men and women in relation to social security plus amendments adopted at the Plenary of 18 September 1996. Parliament wishes to strengthen the protection of employed women and calls, in particular, for the following: - more flexible pension arrangements to enable variable retirement age and the combination of retirement and working income; - if the setting of an identical age means that, for workers of a specified sex, the age must be lowered or raised, provision must be made for gradual implementation; - the same scheme for men and women so as to avoid different levels of contributions; - enlargement of the scope of the Directive to include workers employed under atypical contracts, including part-time workers, so that they can benefit from social security; - the possibility, for all persons who consider themselves injured by failure to apply the principle of equal treatment, to pursue their claims before the courts, both against the employer and against the administrator of the sectoral scheme.�

• 1996/09/18 Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
  • T4-0460/1996 summary

    At the request of its rapporteur, Parliament referred back to committee the report by Mrs Helena TORRES MARQUES (PSE, P) on the amendment of the 1986 Directive on the implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in occupational social security schemes. Previously, Parliament had adopted amendments aimed at strengthening the protection of employed women, and in particular: - more flexible pension arrangements to enable variable retirement age and the combination of retirement and working income; - if the setting of an identical age means that, for workers of a specified sex, the age must be lowered or raised, provision must be made for gradual implementation; - the same scheme for men and women so as to avoid different levels of contributions; - enlargement of the scope of the Directive to include workers employed under atypical contracts, including part-time workers, so that they can benefit from social security; - the possibility, for all persons who consider themselves injured by failure to apply the principle of equal treatment, to pursue their claims before the courts, both against the employer and against the administrator of the sectoral scheme. �

• 1996/09/17 Debate in Parliament
  • Debate in Parliament
• 1996/07/23 Vote in committee, 1st reading/single reading
  • A4-0256/1996
• 1995/10/13 Committee referral announced in Parliament, 1st reading/single reading
• 1995/05/16 Legislative proposal published
  • COM(1995)0186 summary

    OBJECTIVE: to bring Directive 86/378/EEC into line with Article 119 of the Treaty as interpreted by the Court of Justice in its Barber judgment (17 May 1990), which acknowledges that all forms of occupational pension and, therefore, all forms of benefits under occupational social security schemes for employees, constitute an element of pay within the meaning of Article 119 of the TEU, which states that men and women should receive equal pay for equal work. SUBSTANCE: The amendments proposed by the Commission solely transpose the case law and apply to this text the Court of Justice's interpretation of Article 119. This article, which has direct application, does not authorise any derogation to the principle of equal treatment. As a result, certain provisions of Directive 86/378/EEC which contained derogations to the principle of equal treatment, particularly with regard to pensionable age and benefits for survivors, become obsolete for employees. Schemes for workers must thus guarantee the principle of equal treatment with regard to the age at which old-age or retirement pensions are granted as well as survivors' pensions and workers' contributions. Article 119 does not apply to self-employed workers, for whom Directive 86/378/EEC is therefore still valid. The amendments to the directive concern the following points in particular: - definition of occupational social security schemes: schemes which are based on the working relationship between the employee and the employer with the exception of so-called statutory schemes, and insurance contracts and private pension schemes, to which the employer is not party; - extension of the scope of the directive to include members of workers' families and those claiming under them; - consideration of the provisions contrary to the principle of equal treatment to determine those that are based on sex, either directly or indirectly, by reference to marital or family status (the directive stipulates, in particular, that workers' contributions must be equal, as should the benefits paid out by occupational schemes with the exception of defined-contribution schemes, and employers' contributions except in specific cases laid down by the directive); - the derogations provided for in Directive 86/378/EEC shall only apply to self-employed workers. �

Documents

• Legislative proposal published: COM(1995)0186
• Committee report tabled for plenary, 1st reading/single reading: A4-0256/1996
• Debate in Parliament: Debate in Parliament
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0460/1996
• Decision by Parliament, 1st reading/single reading: T4-0573/1996
• Modified legislative proposal published: COM(1996)0605
• : Directive 1996/97
• : OJ L 046 17.02.1997, p. 0020

History

(these mark the time of scraping, not the official date of the change)