Sex discrimination: Ex-employees must have legal remedy against victimisation

The EC Equal Treatment Directive requires member states to provide judicial protection for those whose former employers react to their bringing claims of sex discrimination against them during their employment by refusing their requests for a reference, rules the European Court of Justice in Coote v Granada Hospitality Ltd 22.9.98 Case C-185/97. Fear of such denials, where no legal remedy is available against them, might deter workers who considered themselves to be the victims of sex discrimination from pursuing their claims in the courts.