EU anti-discrimination law applies to all ‘personal work’—not just employment contracts—the Court of Justice has ruled.

In December 2017, ‘JK’ and his partner published on their YouTube channel a Christmas music video aimed at promoting tolerance towards same-sex couples. Two days later, JK received an email from his employer in Poland, the government-owned broadcaster Telewizja Polska, effectively terminating his contract with immediate effect.

JK had been employed by TP as an independent contractor for some seven years, on a succession of short-term contracts for the production of edited materials for trailers. The last of those contracts (for a month) had been signed, following successful vetting and evaluation, just two weeks earlier.

JK sued TP, claiming unlawful direct discrimination on account of his sexual orientation. Unfortunately for him, Polish anti-discrimination legislation has however been understood by domestic courts as exclusively protecting employees with normal contracts of employment—not self-employed contractors.

Fortunately for JK though, the Polish court made a reference to the Court of Justice of the European Union. This was to ascertain whether the Polish legislation was in line with articles 3(1)(a) and (c) of the EU framework equality directive (2000/78), which make its provisions applicable to ‘all persons …. in relation to … conditions for access to employment, to self-employment or to occupation’.

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