JS v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2011] EWCA Civ 806

“The claimant is not to be treated as habitually resident in the UK for the purposes of her claim to income support made on 18 March 2008 because she did not at the material time have a right to reside in the United Kingdom. Therefore for those purposes she was a “person from abroad” with an Income Support applicable amount of nil.”

“5. The claimant is a French national who came to the UK on 10 July 2006. She worked in various jobs in the UK from 1 September 2006 to 1 August 2007, most or all of which were as a teaching assistant. She enrolled on a Post-Graduate Certificate in Education (PGCE) course for modern languages at the Institute of Education, University of London, the envisaged period of study being 17 September 2007 to 27 June 2008. The tuition fees were funded by a student loan and she was supported by a bursary. She became pregnant, the expected date of confinement being 2 June 2008. Realising that she would have given birth prior to the end of her course she withdrew from her studies as of 1 February 2008. Her bursary payments ceased. She undertook agency work from 22 January 2008, hoping to find teaching assistant positions in secondary schools. None was available so she took agency positions working in nursery schools. By 12 March 2008 the demands of caring for nursery school children while some 6 months pregnant were proving too much and she stopped such work. The claimant looked unsuccessfully for lighter work for a few days before giving up doing so and on 18 March 2008 claiming income support, which was refused. 6. Her baby was born on 21 May 2008. Some three months later, the claimant resumed employment. Sadly, in May 2009, the baby died from a heart condition. 7. It is not in dispute that the posts that she held and the period of study were sufficient to make the claimant a “worker” for EU purposes as long as she held them, i.e. until 12 March 2008. Her claim of 18 March 2008 was rejected by a decision on 4 May 2008 on the basis that she lacked the right to reside and so her “applicable amount” for income support purposes was nil: see paragraph 17 of Schedule 7 to the Income Support (General) Regulations 1987/1967 (“the 1987 Regulations”). …”

“2. Ms Dias is a Portuguese citizen and a single lady. She came to the UK in January 1998 with her two children. She got a job immediately. Those children are now grown up and have left home. She was in continuous employment, without significant gaps until the Summer of 2002. She was then pregnant and took maternity leave. Her youngest child was born on 7 October 2002. Her maternity leave expired on 17 April 2003. She opted not to go back to work and remained unemployed (receiving income support under the then prevailing rules) until 26 April 2004. She worked again for the same employer from 26 April 2004 until 23 March 2007, but on that latter day she gave up work because she wanted to be able to give more time to her youngest child. Accordingly her employment history divides into 5 periods: i) January 1998 (arrival in UK) to Summer 2002: in work ii) Summer 2002 to 17 April 2003: maternity leave iii) 18 April 2003 to 25 April 2004: not working iv) 26 April 2004 to 23 March 2007: in work v) 23 March 2007 onwards: not working.” i) January 1998 (arrival in UK) to Summer 2002: in work ii) Summer 2002 to 17 April 2003: maternity leave iii) 18 April 2003 to 25 April 2004: not working iv) 26 April 2004 to 23 March 2007: in work v) 23 March 2007 onwards: not working.”

“18. For Ms Dias, Mr Berry contends that during period (iii) Ms Dias maintained a sufficient link with her previous employment to remain a 'worker', just as it is agreed that she did when on maternity leave (and thus still in employment) in period (ii). He says that the court should proceed by analogy with Lair v Universität Hannover, Case 39/86 [1988] ECR 3161, to reach this conclusion. He accepts that there was no contract of employment in period (iii). Ms Dias maintained a sufficient link with her employment, he contends, because (a) she would have returned to the job but for the twin facts of a child to care for, who moreover for some of the time was not very well, and a measure of domestic violence, and (b) her erstwhile employers remained willing to have her back. And he contends that it is necessary to hold that she retained the status of 'worker' in order to avoid any discrimination against her as a woman, the factors which led to her being out of work being ones which are, he asserts, particularly likely to affect women. 19. Prior to Directive 2004/38 the general rule was that once the employment relationship had ended the person concerned lost his or her status as a worker, but there were a limited number of situations in which that status was retained, for example when the person had lost his job and was genuinely seeking another: Martinez Sala v Freistaat Bayern Case C-85/96 [1998] ECR 1-2691 at paragraph 32. Once Directive 2004/38 came into force the conditions for retention of worker status were codified in Article 7(3): broadly, temporary incapacity to work, involuntary unemployment after a qualifying period and vocational training. Mr Berry accepts that Ms Dias could not bring herself within any decision prior to Directive 2004/38 or within the conditions codified in Article 7(3). But he says that these rules are not exhaustive and should be supplemented by a ruling that a person in the position of Ms Dias who voluntarily gives up employment to care for her child but who contemplates a return in the future is similarly still to be regarded as a worker, at least where subsequently she does in fact return. 20. The facts are not entirely certain but some things seem clear. Ms Dias' statement does say that she had had to take time off work because her child was ill, but this must have been in period (iv); it has no bearing on period (iii) which is what is in question. Her decision not to work in period (iii) was made, she says, because her son was small (six months) and she did not want to leave him. Thus she made a perfectly comprehensible but voluntary decision to care for her child herself rather than to work. The "problems with my son's father" were, she says, sometime after she decided not to go back to work; these did not cause the decision not to return after maternity leave, nor were they the cause of her remaining unemployed throughout period (iii); what they perhaps did was somewhat to delay the re-start at work (period (iv)). 21. Mr Berry's proposition would be an impermissible judicial extension of rules carefully formulated in Europe, first by the courts and latterly by Article 7(3) of Directive 2004/38. The circumstances of a parent, of either sex, who gives up employment to care for a child but anticipates a return after some as yet unknown time are very common. The breadth of the concept of 'worker' has to recognise a balancing of the interests of migrants and of host States and their taxpayers. The codification of the concept which has been accomplished by Article 7(3) of Directive 2004/38 demonstrates where that balance has been struck. The circumstances under consideration are not analogous to those which are set out in that Article, but would represent a significant departure from them. 22. There is, moreover, no true analogy with Lair. Ms Lair was held to be entitled to a student maintenance grant if but only if there was "some continuity between her previous occupational activity and the course of study" (see paragraph 37 of the judgment). Ms Dias left employment for reasons which are perfectly understandable socially but which had nothing whatever to do with her occupational activity: indeed precisely the reverse. 23. The Commissioner was accordingly right in his decision (ii). Ms Dias did not retain the status of worker during period (iii) and it follows that period (iii) cannot count, on this basis, towards a cumulative total of five years' continuous legal residence.”

“68. Ms Dias’ period of residence in period 3 would be legal residence within the meaning of Article 16(1) of Directive 2004/38 if she had also been a worker in that period. The referring court held that not to be the case and in that regard did not refer a question for a preliminary ruling. 69. The referring court’s conclusion that Ms Dias was not a worker in period 3 appears to be in conformity with the case-law of the Court. According to that case-law, once the employment relationship has ended, the status of worker is as a rule lost. (Case C-43/99 Leclere [2001] ECR I-4265, paragraph 55.) It is apparent from the order for reference that Ms Dias’ employment relationship ended when period 3 began, that is when she decided following the end of her maternity leave to continue to care for her son and not to go back to her job. Ms Dias thereby voluntarily lost her status of worker as such. 70. … 71. Ms Dias can also not base her status of worker on provisions of secondary law. Admittedly, Article 7(1) of Directive 68/360 (See now Article 7(3)(b) of Directive 2004/38/EC) provides that persons who are not workers within the meaning of that term are in certain circumstances to be assimilated to them. It makes such provision however only for persons who became unemployed involuntarily and not, on the other hand, for those in voluntary unemployment.”

“Union citizenship should be the fundamental status of nationals of the Member States when they exercise their right of free movement and residence. It is therefore necessary to codify and review the existing Community instruments dealing separately with workers, self-employed persons, as well as students and other inactive persons in order to simplify and strengthen the right of free movement and residence of all Union citizens.”

“This Directive lays down: (a) the conditions governing the exercise of the right of free movement and residence within the territory of the Member States by Union citizens and their family members; (b) the right of permanent residence in the territory of the Member States for Union citizens and their family members; (c) the limits placed on the rights set out in (a) and (b) on grounds of public policy, public security or public health.”

“19. … the test of worker status is as set out by the European Court of Justice in C-85/96 Martinez Sala [1998] ECR I-2691: “The status of worker within the meaning of Article 48 of the Treaty and Regulation No 1612/68 32. In the context of Article 48 of the Treaty and Regulation No 1612/68, a person who, for a certain period of time, performs services for and under the direction of another person in return for which he receives remuneration must be considered to be a worker. Once the employment relationship has ended, the person concerned as a rule loses his status of worker, although that status may produce certain effects after the relationship has ended, and a person who is genuinely seeking work must also be classified as a worker (see, in that connection, Case 66/85 Lawrie-Blum [1986] ECR 2121, paragraph 17, Case 39/86 Lair [1988] ECR 3161, paragraphs 31 to 36, and Case C-292/89 Antonissen [1991] ECR I-745, paragraphs 12 and 13). (What was then Article 48 is what is now Article 39).”

“42. Mr Drabble reserves his position, lest he may wish to argue them before a higher Court, in respect of the following: a. whether the refusal of income support to the claimant amounts to unlawful discrimination on the grounds of nationality, contrary to Article 3 of Regulation 1408/71 (as argued unsuccessfully in Patmalniece v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2009] EWCA Civ 621 before the Court of Appeal and in respect of which it is understood that permission to appeal to the Supreme Court has been granted) b. whether such refusal involved unlawful discrimination on grounds of nationality contrary to Article 12 of the EU Treaty, (a route not open to him before the Upper Tribunal because of the decision of the Court of Appeal in Abdirahman) c. whether Kaczmarek is rightly decided d. whether Article 7(3) of the Directive is contrary to European law … as amounting to unlawful sex discrimination.” a. whether the refusal of income support to the claimant amounts to unlawful discrimination on the grounds of nationality, contrary to Article 3 of Regulation 1408/71 (as argued unsuccessfully in Patmalniece v Secretary of State for Work and Pensions [2009] EWCA Civ 621 before the Court of Appeal and in respect of which it is understood that permission to appeal to the Supreme Court has been granted) b. whether such refusal involved unlawful discrimination on grounds of nationality contrary to Article 12 of the EU Treaty, (a route not open to him before the Upper Tribunal because of the decision of the Court of Appeal in Abdirahman) c. whether Kaczmarek is rightly decided d. whether Article 7(3) of the Directive is contrary to European law … as amounting to unlawful sex discrimination.”

“52. … the Secretary of State's purpose was to protect the resources of the United Kingdom against resort to benefit or social tourism by persons who are not economically or socially integrated with this country. This is not because of their nationality or because of where they have come from. It is because of the principle that only those who are economical or socially integrated with the host member state should have access to its social assistance system. The principle, which I take from the decision in the Trojani case, is that it is open to member states to say that economical or social integration is required. A person's nationality does, of course, have a bearing on whether that test can be satisfied. But the justification itself is blind to the person's nationality. The requirement that there must be a right to reside here applies to everyone, irrespective of their nationality. 53 For these reasons I would hold that the Secretary of State has provided a sufficient justification, and that it is independent of the nationality of the person concerned. It follows that the indirect discrimination that results from regulation 2 of the 2002 Regulations was not made unlawful by article 3(1) of Regulation 1408/71. See also the judgment of Baroness Hale, who referred to the judgment of the Court of Justice in Trojani v Centre public d'aide sociale de Bruxelles (Case C-456/02) [2004] ECR I-7573: “107. …. The court in the Trojani case pointed out, at para 45, that “it remains open to the host member state to take the view that a national of another member state who has recourse to social assistance no longer fulfils the conditions of his right of residence. In such a case the host member state may, within the limits imposed by Community law, take a measure to remove him. However, recourse to the social assistance system by a citizen of the Union may not automatically entail such a measure.” 108 Once again, the emphasis is on the right to reside. I do not find there any suggestion that it is not open to the host member state to make entitlement to such benefits conditional upon that right. For that reason, and in agreement with Lord Hope DPSC, I would dismiss this appeal. “it remains open to the host member state to take the view that a national of another member state who has recourse to social assistance no longer fulfils the conditions of his right of residence. In such a case the host member state may, within the limits imposed by Community law, take a measure to remove him. However, recourse to the social assistance system by a citizen of the Union may not automatically entail such a measure.”