In a judgement dated 8 May 2019, C-486/18, the European Court of Justice ruled that the calculation of compensation for dismissal and redeployment leave allowance for an employee on part-time parental leave must be based on the full-time salary.

The case involved a sales assistant on a full-time permanent employment contract. She was dismissed on economic grounds during her part-time parental leave under French law. As part of the collective redundancy procedure, the employee accepted redeployment leave lasting nine months. At the end of this leave, she disputed the methods used to calculate the compensation for dismissal and redeployment leave allowance, which was determined in particular on the basis of the reduced salary she was receiving at the time of the dismissal.

The European Court of Justice decided that calculating compensation for dismissal and redeployment leave allowance on the basis of a salary that has been reduced due to parental leave is contrary to the EU framework agreement on parental leave.

Indeed, according to the Court, if a worker employed on a permanent full-time basis is dismissed while they are on part-time parental leave, the compensation for dismissal and redeployment leave allowance, described by the Court as a ‘right derived from the employment relationship’, must be determined entirely on the basis of the full-time salary.

In addition, the European Court of Justice specifies that article 157 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union on the principle of equal pay for female and male workers for equal work or work of equal value precludes an employee on a full-time permanent contract who is dismissed during parental leave receiving compensation for dismissal and redeployment leave allowance calculated on the basis of their reduced pay, particularly in view of the fact that more women than men take parental leave and that this difference in treatment is not justified.