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Neutral Citation Number:	2010 UKUT 131 AAC
Reported Number:
File Number:	CIS 339 2009
Appellant:	Saint-Prix v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions
Respondent:	JS
Judge/Commissioner:	Judge C G Ward
Date Of Decision:	19/06/2014
Date Added:	29/06/2010
Main Category:	European Union law
Main Subcategory:	workers
Secondary Category:
Secondary Subcategory:
Notes:	Decision of the Court of Justice of the European Union reported as [2014] AACR 18. European Union law – workers – whether worker status retained when not employed in later stages of pregnancy The appellant was a Frenchwoman who came to the UK in 2006. She worked for 11 months, mainly as a teaching assistant. She then enrolled as a student but later left her course to work in nursery schools. In March 2008 she stopped work being six months pregnant and claimed income support (IS). The Department for Work and Pensions (DWP) rejected her claim having decided that she had lost her status as a worker and did not have the right to reside in the UK. Her appeal to the First-tier Tribunal (F-tT) was upheld but the Secretary of State successfully appealed to the Upper Tribunal (UT) and its decision was upheld by Court of Appeal. The appellant appealed to the Supreme Court and it decided to refer various questions to the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU). The particular issue before the CJEU was how Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union (TFEU) and Article 7 of Directive 2004/38/EC were to be interpreted in these circumstances. Held, that: 1. the concept of “worker” had to be interpreted broadly. Freedom of movement for workers entailed the right of nationals of Member States to move freely within the territory of the other Member States and to stay there to seek employment, and consequently classification as a worker did not necessarily depend on the actual or continuing existence of an employment relationship. It could not be argued that Article 7(3) of Directive 2004/38/EC contained an exhaustive list of the circumstances in which worker status might be retained. An EU citizen would be deterred from exercising her freedom of movement if, having given up work due to pregnancy, she risked losing her worker status. EU law gave special protection for women in connection with maternity, so for instance continuity of residence was not affected by an absence of up to 12 months for important reasons such as pregnancy and childbirth (paragraphs 29 to 45); 2. Article 45 of the Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union must be interpreted as meaning that a woman who gave up work, or seeking work, because of the physical constraints of the late stages of pregnancy and the aftermath of childbirth retained the status of “worker” within the meaning of that Article, provided she returned to work or found another job within a reasonable period after the birth of her child. In order to decide whether that latter period was reasonable, the national court should take account of all the specific circumstances of the case and the applicable national rules on the duration of maternity leave (paragraphs 42 to 46).
Decision(s) to Download:	CIS 0339 2009-00.doc [2014] AACR 18bv.doc