Katherine Apps considers the practical effect Impact v Maff could have on employment cases
It is rare that the European Court of Justice (ECJ) hands down judgment in a case which runs through almost all of the general principles of EC law in; C 268/06 Impact v Ministry of Agriculture and Food [2008] ECR I-nyr (Impact) is such a case. Impact is both:
- (i) an example of the application of the key principles of EC law in an employment tribunal context (direct effect, indirect effect, effectiveness, equivalence, non discrimination etc); and
- (ii) important in cases involving the Fixed Term Employees (Prevention of Less Favourable Treatment) Regulations 2002 (SI 2002/2034).
How the Questions in Impact Arose
Impact was referred to the ECJ by the Irish Labour Court in a case brought under the Irish legislation implementing Directive 99/70/EC concerning the framework agreement on fixed-term work (the Fixed Term Work Directive).
Ireland has a similar (although not identical) system to the English employment tribunal system. The similarities are more fully fleshed out in the opinion of Advocate
