In a decision on October 30, the General Social Chamber of the Superior Court of Xustiza in Galicia (TSXG) recognized for the first time the right to compensation for damages of a pensioner deprived of the maternity supplement of Social Security.
This resolution comes after the judgment issued last September by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) in which it ruled, in response to a preliminary question raised by the court itself, that Spain must pay the parents who judicially claim their maternity supplement, as in the case of this affected person, who claimed this bonus before a court in Vigo appeal for violation of equality.
On December 12, 2019, the CJEU already declared that this supplement is discriminatory and contrary to the European directive on equal treatment, by excluding parents who are in the same situation. However, until 2021, when Spain changed the regulations and changed the old maternity supplement for the demographic contribution to the current contribution pension supplement to reduce the gender gap, which applies to those mother and father.
In the period of time between the decision and the change, many retired parents claim this supplemental payment from Social Security. In most cases, the Administration rejects the request and those affected are forced to demand compliance with their rights through judicial means. For the CJEU, this represents “double discrimination”, since only men have to assert this right judicially, so the court demanded in its September decision that those affected be compensated.
Following this decision, the right of an appellant to be paid by the National Social Security Institute with 1,500 euros for damages caused, derived from the violation of the fundamental right to equality, was recognized for the first time. In addition, it once again establishes – as it has done in hundreds of judgments – the retroactive effects of the maternity supplement on the date of the event that caused the supplemented benefit.
The CJEU left the task of setting the amount of compensation in the hands of the Spanish courts, but emphasized that this compensation must take into account the costs incurred by the affiliate due to the application of “necessary discriminatory procedures” , including costs and legal fees. .
In this sense, the TSXG understands that the amount set -1,500 euros- is sufficient to “fully compensate the damages actually suffered as a result of discrimination, according to the applicable national rules, including costs and attorney’s fees incurred by the interested parties.” incurred during the judicial procedure”.
According to the decision, this is an amount that “significantly restores uniformity at the same level (material and method) in which the CJEU refers and compensates the damages suffered by the actor, adjusting what the beneficiary himself requested (consistency) “. The sentence is not final, as an appeal can be filed against it in the Supreme Court.
