Sacking an employee because she is pregnant constitutes direct sex discrimination, regardless of whether she has a fixed-term or permanent contract, the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled.<P>The court extended its case law through the examination of two cases referred by courts in Spain and Denmark. They stem from EU law on the equal treatment of men and women.<P>In the Spanish case, the ECJ stated that, in some circumstances, refusing to renew a fixed-term employment contract may be regarded as a refusal of employment. Refusal to employ a woman on account of pregnancy constitutes direct discrimination on grounds of sex.<P>In the Danish case, the ECJ ruled that whether a contract of employment has been concluded for a fixed term or for an indefinite period has no bearing on the discriminatory nature of such a dismissal.<P><IMG SRC="/images/icons/text_document.gif" hspace="5" width="23" height="32" ALT="Members only">