Request for a preliminary ruling from the Juzgado de lo Social de Barcelona (Spain) lodged on 24 April 2018 — Magdalena Molina Rodríguez v Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE)

(Case C-279/18)

Language of the case: Spanish

Referring court

Juzgado de lo Social No 33 de Barcelona

Parties to the main proceedings

Applicant: Magdalena Molina Rodríguez

Defendant: Servicio Público de Empleo Estatal (SEPE)

Question referred

Must the prohibition of indirect discrimination on grounds of sex laid down in Article 4(1) of Directive 79/7/EEC on the progressive implementation of the principle of equal treatment for men and women in matters of social security ¹ be interpreted as precluding a provision of national law, such as Article 215(1)(3) of the Ley General de la Seguridad Social (General Law on Social Security) (approved by [Real Decreto Legislativo] 1/94 (Royal Legislative Decree 1/94)), which, as amended by Real Decreto Ley 5/2013 de 15 de marzo (Royal Decree-Law 5/2013 of 15 March), lays down a new condition — that household income may not exceed a certain amount — for entitlement to the non-contributory unemployment benefit for workers aged 55 and over, when this restricts entitlement to that benefit significantly more for female (as compared with male) potential beneficiaries, as is demonstrated by the statistics provided?

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¹ OJ 1979 L 6, p. 24.