''Abrahamsson and Anderson v Fogelqvist'' (2000
C-407/98is a Swedish and
EU labour law
European labour law regulates basic transnational standards of employment and partnership at work in the European Union and countries adhering to the European Convention on Human Rights. In setting regulatory floors to competition for job-creatin ...
case, concerning
positive action
In Europe, positive action
are measures which are targeted at protected groups in order to enable or encourage members of those groups to overcome or minimise disadvantage; or to meet the different needs of the
protected group; or to enable or ...
.
Facts
Mr Anderson was slightly better qualified than his three female competitors for the post of Professor of
Hydrospheric Science at the
University of Göteborg
The University of Gothenburg ( sv, Göteborgs universitet) is a university in Sweden's second largest city, Gothenburg. Founded in 1891, the university is the third-oldest of the current Swedish universities and with 37,000 students and 6000 st ...
. But the job was offered to one of the women, Ms Destouni, and when she turned it down, another of the women, Ms Fogelqvist was given the job. Ms Abrahamsson had complained that she was also better than Ms Fogelqvist, but that Mr Anderson was better than her. The universities’ policy was to hire sufficiently qualified people in underrepresented group, even if that meant as in this case a less qualified woman, unless ‘the difference between the candidates’ qualification is so great that such application would give rise to a breach of the requirement of objectivity in the making of appointments.’ This policy was adopted after an earlier recruitment drive had failed.
Judgment
The European Court of Justice held that this form of positive discrimination was unlawful because it overrode consideration of applicants' individual merits. A rule which required an underrepresented group to be promoted over the other was justified if two candidates were equally qualified and assessment was based on objective assessment of their personal situations. But that did not happen here. At paragraph 55 the Court stated,
See also
*''
Briheche v Ministre de l’Interieure''
0051 CMLR 4 (C-319/03), rule struck down which indiscriminately favoured all widows over widowers, regardless of individual circumstances
*''
Lommers v Minister van Landbouw, Natuurbeheer en Visserij''
002 002, 0O2, O02, OO2, or 002 may refer to:
Fiction
*002, fictional British 00 Agent
*''002 Operazione Luna'',
*1965 Italian film
*Zero Two, a ''Darling in the Franxx'' character
Airports
*0O2, Baker Airport
*O02, Nervino Airport
Astronomy
*1996 ...
ECR-I 2891 (C-476/99), rule upheld restricting child care places to female employees, so long as men with child care responsibilities could also benefit
References
{{University of Gothenburg
2000 in the European Union
Court of Justice of the European Union case law
2000 in case law
2000 in Sweden
Swedish case law
University of Gothenburg
Affirmative action in Europe
European Union labour case law