Publication details
Battling the hydra in EU anti-discrimination law: ECJ judgment raises more questions about discrimination against self-employed workers
| Authors | |
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| Year of publication | 2023 |
| Type | Article in Periodical (without peer review) |
| MU Faculty or unit | |
| Citation | |
| Description | Can a company refuse to conclude or renew a contract with a self-employed person because he is gay? And may contractual freedom prevail over the prohibition of discrimination in such a situation? The European Court of Justice (ECJ) has recently tackled these questions in case C- 356/21, J.K. v. TP. A short answer stemming from the judgment would be a resounding no. Yet, a further analysis is in order because the judgment also brings a significant shift in the ECJ’s anti-discrimination case law. We argue that by interpreting the scope of the EU anti-discrimination directives as covering the conclusion of contracts by self-employed workers, the ECJ has extended the protection against discrimination to unexpected areas. That raises questions about how the directives will be applied in practice when self-employed workers claim discrimination. |