The CJEU today issued its judgment in Case C-507/12 Saint Prix v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, a reference from the UK Supreme Court concerning whether an EU citizen who gives up work on account of the demands of pregnancy remains a “worker” for the purposes of the Citizenship Directive 2004/38/EC and/or Article 45 TFEU and therefore retains a right to reside along with various benefits that, under UK law, flow from that right.
The CJEU held that:
- Classification as a worker under Article 45 TFEU, and the rights deriving from that status, do not necessarily depend upon the actual or continuing existence of an employment relationship;
- Article 7(3) of the Citizenship Directive does not list exhaustively the circumstances in which a migrant worker who is no longer in an employment relationship may nevertheless continue to benefit from that status; and
- A woman who gives up work, or seeking work, because of the physical constraints of the late stages of pregnancy and the aftermath of childbirth retains the status of ‘worker’ under Article 45TFEU provided she returns to work or finds another job within a reasonable period after the birth of her child.
Richard Drabble QC acted for Ms Saint Prix, instructed by the Child Poverty Action Group.
