Judgments of the Court of Justice in Cases C-438/99 and C-109/00.

The Court points out that it has already held that a refusal of employment on account of pregnancy cannot be justified by financial loss which the employer may suffer, if he recruits a pregnant woman, during her maternity leave, or because the woman who has been recruited cannot occupy the post in question during her pregnancy.
Since the dismissal of a worker on account of her pregnancy constitutes direct discrimination on grounds of sex, whatever the nature and extent of the economic loss incurred by the employer as a result of the absence linked to pregnancy, whether the contract of employment has been concluded for a fixed term or an indefinite period has no bearing on the discriminatory character of the dismissal: in either case the employee's inability to perform her contract of employment is due to her pregnancy.

• Reference: Case C-438/99
                   Case C-109/00