Equality for Men and Women
Equality for Men and Women : Social security: EU Directive 79/7/EEC of 19 December 1978 on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security implements the principle of equal treatment in statutory social security schemes offering protection against the risks of sickness, invalidity, old age, accidents at work and occupational diseases, and unemployment and social assistance. The Directive applies to the working population, including workers whose activity is interrupted (by illness, accident or unemployment), persons seeking employment, retired or invalided workers, and self-employed persons. It does not apply to provisions concerning survivors' benefits and family benefits. The principle of equal treatment means that there should be no discrimination on grounds of sex, in particular as concerns: (1) the scope of the schemes and the conditions of access to them; (2) the obligation to contribute and the calculation of contributions; (3) the calculation of benefits and the conditions governing the duration and retention of entitlement to benefit. The principle of equal treatment is without prejudice to the provisions relating to the protection of women on the grounds of maternity. Any laws, regulations and administrative provisions contrary to the principle of equal treatment are abolished. Any persons who are the victims of the failure to apply the principle of equal treatment must be able to pursue their claims by judicial process. The EU Member States may exclude from the scope of Directive 79/7/EC: (1) the determination of pensionable age (old-age and retirement pensions); (2) advantages granted to persons who have brought up children (old-age insurance, acquisition of benefit entitlements following periods of inter- ruption of employment due to the bringing up of children); (3) the granting of old-age or invalidity benefit entitlement by virtue of the derived entitlements of a spouse; (4) the granting of increases of long-term invalidity, old age, accidents at work and occupational disease benefits for a dependent spouse; (5) the consequences of the exercise, before the adoption of the Directive, of a right of option not to acquire rights or incur obligations under a statutory scheme. The Member States periodically examine whether it is justified to maintain the exclusions in the light of social developments. See: Equality of treatment (social security); Social security (minimum standards)
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