Three questions (and answers) on discrimination: the specific qualifying period for retirement pensions, the child supplement under the civil service pension scheme, and foster care leave under the Basic Statute of Public Employees

Abstract

This article examines three issues in which the principles of equality and non-discrimination play a decisive role in the interpretation and application of Social Security and public employment law. First, it considers whether the specific qualifying period required to access a contributory retirement pension may give rise to indirect sex discrimination, assessing the corrective function of the so-called paréntesis doctrine and the possibility of its reinterpretation from a gender perspective. Secondly, it analyses the exclusion of the gender pension gap supplement in cases of voluntary early retirement under the Civil Service Pension Scheme, questioning whether such exclusion is compatible with the prohibition of age discrimination. Finally, it examines the minimum duration requirement for foster care established in article 49.b) of the Basic Statute of Public Employees for entitlement to the corresponding leave, questioning its compatibility with the principle of equality in light of the evolution of foster care as a legal institution. The article argues that certain interpretative approaches should be reconsidered in order to ensure a system of social protection consistent with the requirements of the principle of non-discrimination.