Marknaden som skäl för löneskillnader. En uppsats om marknadsargumentet i lönediskrimineringstvister
(2014) JURM02 20141Department of Law
- Abstract (Swedish)
- Likalöneprincipen innebär rätten till lika lön för kvinnor och män för lika eller likvärdigt arbete. Likalöneprincipen återfinns bl.a. i FNs förklaring om de mänskliga rättigheterna från 1948 och principen har varit en viktig del av EU-rätten sedan Romfördraget. I uppsatsen redogör jag för hur likalöneprincipen har utvecklats inom unionsrätten och i svensk rätt. Fokus ligger på det s.k. marknadsargumentet där marknaden används för att rättfärdiga löneskillnader och motbevisa presumtion om könsdiskriminering. Uppsatsen syfte är att titta på hur marknadsargumentet används i Arbetsdomstolens praxis. Syftet är också att undersöka om Arbetsdomstolens behandling av marknadsargumentet är förenligt med den unionsrättsliga likalöneprincipen. Den... (More)
- Likalöneprincipen innebär rätten till lika lön för kvinnor och män för lika eller likvärdigt arbete. Likalöneprincipen återfinns bl.a. i FNs förklaring om de mänskliga rättigheterna från 1948 och principen har varit en viktig del av EU-rätten sedan Romfördraget. I uppsatsen redogör jag för hur likalöneprincipen har utvecklats inom unionsrätten och i svensk rätt. Fokus ligger på det s.k. marknadsargumentet där marknaden används för att rättfärdiga löneskillnader och motbevisa presumtion om könsdiskriminering. Uppsatsen syfte är att titta på hur marknadsargumentet används i Arbetsdomstolens praxis. Syftet är också att undersöka om Arbetsdomstolens behandling av marknadsargumentet är förenligt med den unionsrättsliga likalöneprincipen. Den unionsrättsliga likalöneprincipen återfinns i artikel 157 FEUF.
Artikel 157 (f.d. artikel 141 FEG)
Varje medlemsstat ska säkerställa att principen om lika lön för kvinnor och män för lika arbete eller likvärdigt arbete tillämpas.
Genom EU-domstolens praxis har likalöneprincipen utsträckts till att inte bara gälla arbeten som betraktas som lika utan även likvärdiga arbeten omfattas. I diskrimineringsmål används en särskild bevisbörderegel. I svensk rätt återfinns i 6 kap. 3 § DiskL en presumtionsregel som grundar sig i EU-rätten. Syftet med regeln är att ge käranden en bevislättnad. Presumtionsregeln innebär att om käranden visar på omständigheter som ger anledning att anta att han eller hon har blivit diskriminerad så infinner sig en presumtion om diskriminering och bevisbördan övergår på svaranden att visa att diskriminering inte har förekommit.
Målet Bilka-Kaufhaus har gett upphov till det s.k. Bilkatestet som används vid indirekt diskriminering för att pröva svarandens motbevisning. Svaranden måste visa att löneskillnaden beror på objektivt godtagbara skäl, som i sig inte är könsdiskriminerande och som motsvarar ett verkligt behov samt att det är nödvändigt och adekvat.
Utifrån en analys av fyra rättsfall från Arbetsdomstolen kommer jag fram till att marknadsargumentet i svensk praxis ibland innebär en hänvisning till en större alternativ arbetsmarknad där det betalas högre löner och ibland innebär marknadsargumentet att särskild kunskap och/eller erfarenhet som arbetsgivaren är i behov av kan motivera löneskillnader. Det senare gäller särskilt i nyanställningssituationer. Detta har accepterats av Arbetsdomstolen. EU-domstolen har också i Enderbymålet uttalat att situationen på arbetsmarknaden kan vara ett objektivt skäl.
Med utgångspunkt i litteraturen och rättsfallsanalysen finner jag att svensk praxis inte gör hela Bilkatestet när man prövar marknadsargumentet. Marknaden accepteras som ett objektivt godtagbart skäl men frågan om marknaden i sig är könsdiskriminerande ställs inte. Jag menar att frågan som Arbetsdomstolen glömmer att ställa är; är marknadskrafterna, så som de tar sig uttryck i det aktuella fallet, könsdiskriminerande? (Less) - Abstract
- The equal pay principle can be found in several international conventions, such as in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as in The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The main focus of this essay is to look in to the equal pay principle and how it has developed within the European Union as well as in Sweden. The main focus is on the market factor as it is used as a way to justify wage discrimination.
The market factor has been used in the Swedish Labour Court in four cases during the time period 2001-2013. I wanted to look into what the market factor meant in the case law of the Swedish Labour Court and if it was compatible to the equal pay principle within the community law.
To do this I... (More) - The equal pay principle can be found in several international conventions, such as in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as in The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The main focus of this essay is to look in to the equal pay principle and how it has developed within the European Union as well as in Sweden. The main focus is on the market factor as it is used as a way to justify wage discrimination.
The market factor has been used in the Swedish Labour Court in four cases during the time period 2001-2013. I wanted to look into what the market factor meant in the case law of the Swedish Labour Court and if it was compatible to the equal pay principle within the community law.
To do this I look in to the development of the equal pay principle as well as into the four cases from the Swedish Labour Court. The equal pay principle has developed through the case law of the European Court of Justice and does not anymore apply only to equal work but also to work of equal value. The burden of proof in discrimination cases can be found in Swedish law in the 6 chapter 3 § in the Discrimination Act and is based on the recast directive from 2006 (and before that on the directive on the burden of proof in cases of discrimination based on sex) where it is stated in article 19 that:
“persons who consider themselves wronged because the principle of equal treatment has not been applied to them establish, before a court or other competent authority, facts from which it may be presumed that there has been direct or indirect discrimination, it shall be for the respondent to prove that there has been no breach of the principle of equal treatment”.
The Bilka test derives from the Bilka-Kaufhaus case and can be used in cases of indirect discrimination to test the respondent’s justifications. The respondent has to show that there is an objectively justified ground for the wage difference and that it responds to a real need and is adequate and necessary. The objectively justified ground has to be non-discriminatory in itself.
From the analysis of the four Labour Court cases I concluded that the market factor in Swedish case law sometimes means a bigger alternative labour market where the wages are higher and sometimes the market factor means that the employers need of employees with a certain knowledge or experience can justify wage differences, especially in cases where the employer is hiring. Both the Swedish Labour Court and the European Court of Justice have found that the market factor can be an objectively justified ground. In the European Court of Justice this can be seen in the Enderby case.
I do however find that Swedish case law does not apply the entire Bilka test. The market factor is accepted as an objectively justified ground but the question about the market being non-discriminatory in itself is not asked. I therefore mean that the Swedish Labour court in cases of sex discrimination where the market factor is presented needs to ask the question is the market factor, in this case, in itself discriminatory? (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/4451043
- author
- Ahlberg, Therese LU
- supervisor
- organization
- alternative title
- The market factor in wage discrimination cases
- course
- JURM02 20141
- year
- 2014
- type
- H3 - Professional qualifications (4 Years - )
- subject
- keywords
- Arbeträtt, Labour Law, Likalöneprincipen, marknadsargumentet, equal pay principle, market factor
- language
- Swedish
- id
- 4451043
- date added to LUP
- 2014-06-12 08:31:48
- date last changed
- 2014-06-12 08:31:48
@misc{4451043,
abstract = {{The equal pay principle can be found in several international conventions, such as in the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights as well as in The Treaty on the Functioning of the European Union. The main focus of this essay is to look in to the equal pay principle and how it has developed within the European Union as well as in Sweden. The main focus is on the market factor as it is used as a way to justify wage discrimination.
The market factor has been used in the Swedish Labour Court in four cases during the time period 2001-2013. I wanted to look into what the market factor meant in the case law of the Swedish Labour Court and if it was compatible to the equal pay principle within the community law.
To do this I look in to the development of the equal pay principle as well as into the four cases from the Swedish Labour Court. The equal pay principle has developed through the case law of the European Court of Justice and does not anymore apply only to equal work but also to work of equal value. The burden of proof in discrimination cases can be found in Swedish law in the 6 chapter 3 § in the Discrimination Act and is based on the recast directive from 2006 (and before that on the directive on the burden of proof in cases of discrimination based on sex) where it is stated in article 19 that:
“persons who consider themselves wronged because the principle of equal treatment has not been applied to them establish, before a court or other competent authority, facts from which it may be presumed that there has been direct or indirect discrimination, it shall be for the respondent to prove that there has been no breach of the principle of equal treatment”.
The Bilka test derives from the Bilka-Kaufhaus case and can be used in cases of indirect discrimination to test the respondent’s justifications. The respondent has to show that there is an objectively justified ground for the wage difference and that it responds to a real need and is adequate and necessary. The objectively justified ground has to be non-discriminatory in itself.
From the analysis of the four Labour Court cases I concluded that the market factor in Swedish case law sometimes means a bigger alternative labour market where the wages are higher and sometimes the market factor means that the employers need of employees with a certain knowledge or experience can justify wage differences, especially in cases where the employer is hiring. Both the Swedish Labour Court and the European Court of Justice have found that the market factor can be an objectively justified ground. In the European Court of Justice this can be seen in the Enderby case.
I do however find that Swedish case law does not apply the entire Bilka test. The market factor is accepted as an objectively justified ground but the question about the market being non-discriminatory in itself is not asked. I therefore mean that the Swedish Labour court in cases of sex discrimination where the market factor is presented needs to ask the question is the market factor, in this case, in itself discriminatory?}},
author = {{Ahlberg, Therese}},
language = {{swe}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
title = {{Marknaden som skäl för löneskillnader. En uppsats om marknadsargumentet i lönediskrimineringstvister}},
year = {{2014}},
}