European Union – Employment. Articles 1 and 2(2) of Council Directive (EC) 2000/78 should be interpreted as meaning that national legislation under which, first, Good Friday was a public holiday only for employees who were members of certain Christian churches and, second, only those employees were entitled, if required to work on that public holiday, to a payment in addition to their regular salary for work done on that day, constituted direct discrimination on grounds of religion and could not regarded either as measures necessary for the protection of the rights and freedoms of others, within the meaning of art 2(5) of that directive, or as specific measures intended to compensate for disadvantages linked to religion, within the meaning of art 7(1) of that directive. The Court of Justice of the European Union so held in proceedings regarding an employee's right to a payment in addition to his regular salary for work done on Good Friday in circumstances where he was not a member of any of the churches covered by the national legislation at issue.