Must a woman who is off work with a pregnancy-related illness remain on full pay or can she be paid sick pay at a lesser amount?

When answering this question the starting point is the case of North Western Health Board v McKenna. This is a European Court of Justice decision in relation to a claim brought by Ms McKenna, who was employed by the NWHB in the Republic of Ireland. The ECJ was essentially asked to consider (amongst other things) whether, in relation to European law, it was lawful to treat pregnancy-related illness in the same way as other forms of sickness for the purpose of sick pay entitlement. The court held that European law does not require the Maintenance of full pay for a female worker who is absent during her pregnancy by reason of an illness related to that pregnancy, and that a rule of a sick leave scheme which provides for a reduction in pay where the absence exceeds a certain Duration as regards both female Workers absent prior to maternity leave by reason of an illness related