Gelijkheid in werkgelegenheid: met reden omkleed advies voor Polen, zaak gesloten voor Hongarije (en)

IP/10/71

Brussels, 28 January 2010

Employment equality rules: reasoned opinion to Poland; case closed for Hungary

The European Commission has today sent a reasoned opinion to Poland for incorrectly implementing EU rules prohibiting discrimination based on religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation in employment and occupation (Directive 2000/78/EC, see also MEMO/08/69). It has also decided to close infringement proceedings concerning the same Directive against Hungary as its national legislation has been brought into line with EU requirements.

"Tackling all forms of discrimination - especially at work - has been a priority for this Commission and for me personally. Our legal action has led to better protection against discrimination in workplaces across the EU," said Equal Opportunities Commissioner Vladimír Špidla.

In the reasoned opinion sent to Poland, the Commission pointed out that:

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  the prohibition of harassment in Polish legislation does not extend to all categories of trainees;
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  regulations on access to certain professions do not contain specific provisions prohibiting discrimination on grounds of religion or belief, disability, age or sexual orientation;
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  the obligation of employers to provide reasonable accommodation to disabled workers does not cover job applicants and trainees;
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  the law that regulates the conditions of vocational training does not include appropriate definitions of direct and indirect discrimination and instruction to discriminate.

The Commission has also decided to close the infringement proceeding against Hungary . The amendments of 2006 and 2009 to the Hungarian Equal Treatment Law, as well as the changes introduced in 2007 to the Act on Disabled Persons' Rights and Equal Opportunities, brought the Hungarian legislation into line with the Directive.

Background

Anti-discrimination (in areas outside gender and nationality discrimination) is a relatively new area of policy for the EU. The European Community acquired new powers in 1999, with the entry into force of the Amsterdam Treaty, to combat discrimination based on racial or ethnic origin, religion and belief, disability, age and sexual orientation (new Article 13 of the EC Treaty). This led to the unanimous adoption by the Member States of two Directives in 2000:

· Directive 2000/43/EC of 29 June 2000 implementing the principle of equal treatment between persons irrespective of racial or ethnic origin ("Racial Equality Directive"). This Directive covers direct and indirect discrimination, as well as harassment, in the fields of employment, vocational training, education, social protection (including social security and health care), social advantages and access to goods and services (including housing).

· Directive 2000/78/EC of 27 November 2000 establishing a general framework for equal treatment in employment, occupation and vocational training ("Employment Equality Directive"). This Directive covers direct and indirect discrimination, as well as harassment, in employment and training on the grounds of religion or belief, age, disability and sexual orientation. It includes specific requirements on reasonable accommodation for disabled persons.

The deadlines for transposition of these two Directives into national law by the Member States were 19 July and 2 December 2003 respectively. For the 10 countries which joined the EU in 2004, the deadline was 1 May 2004. For Bulgaria and Romania it was 1 January 2007.

Further information

EU anti-discrimination legislation

http://ec.europa.eu/social/main.jsp?catId=612&langId=en

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