21.11.2009

Official Journal of the European Union

C 282/29

(Case C-356/09)

2009/C 282/49

Language of the case: German

Referring court

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Pensionsversicherungsanstalt

Respondent: Dr Christine Kleist

Questions referred

1.Is 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, to be interpreted — in the context of a system of employment law in which the general protection of employees against dismissal is determined by their social (financial) dependence on the job — as precluding a provision of a collective agreement offering special protection against dismissal, over and above the statutory general protection against dismissal, only until that point in time at which, in a typical case, there is a social (financial) safety net in the form of an old-age pension if men and women become entitled to that old-age pension at different times?

2.In the context of such a system of employment law, does Article 3(1)(c) of Directive 76/207/EEC, as amended by Directive 2002/73/EC, preclude a decision by a public employer terminating the employment of a female employee just a few months after she acquires the financial safety net of an old-age pension, in order to employ new workers who are already pressing to join the job market?

(1) OJ 1976 L 39, p. 40