The EU anti-discrimination law also applies to the self-employed.
According to a ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ), Poland discriminates against self-employed homosexuals. The highest EU court ruled in Luxembourg on Thursday that the EU anti-discrimination law also applies to freelancers. Therefore, the cooperation with a self-employed person should not be terminated because of his sexual orientation – otherwise the EU anti-discrimination law would be robbed of its effect, the judges ruled.
The Employment Equality Directive, which covers a wide range of professional activities, sets out a general framework for combating discrimination, including on grounds of sexual orientation. “The purpose of the directive is to remove all discrimination-based barriers to access to work for reasons of social and public interest,” says the press release of the ECJ. So far in Poland it has been permitted to refuse a contract with a self-employed person because of their sexual orientation.
Claim for Damages
The background to this is the lawsuit filed by a long-time freelancer at a Polish public television station. In December 2017, he and his partner released a Christmas music video on Youtube promoting tolerance towards same-sex couples.
Shortly thereafter, the television station informed him that his current contract had ended and that no new contract would be concluded. He is asking for damages in a Polish court. The court must now decide the case, taking into account the case law of the ECJ.