Keywords
Summary

Keywords

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Free movement of persons - Workers - Equal treatment - National legislation making employers' social security contributions more onerous in the case of workers undergoing vocational training which does not come under the national education system - Covert discrimination against workers undergoing vocational training who are nationals of other Member States - Not permissible

(EEC Treaty, Art. 48; Council Regulation No 1612/68, Art. 7(2) )

Summary

The prohibition of any discrimination based on nationality as regards remuneration and social advantages, as laid down in Article 48 of the Treaty and Article 7(2) of Regulation No 1612/68, covers not only covert discrimination based on nationality but all overt forms of discrimination which, by applying other distinguishing criteria, in fact achieve the same result. Accordingly, it precludes national rules which require a body responsible for recovering social security contributions to take into account, for a trainee worker who does not come under the national education system, a basis for calculating employers' social security contributions which is more unfavourable than that applied in respect of a trainee worker who comes under the national system, since essentially trainees from other Member States will come under the less favourable system, which is liable to discourage employers from offering them possibilities of traineeship.