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Age discrimination
A newly constituted employment tribunal has found that a police force's requirement that its legal advisers have a law degree to be promoted was not justified, in the final chapter in this long-running age discrimination case.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that a voluntary redundancy scheme that provided different severance payments for two different age groups of employees was not age discriminatory because the differential treatment was justified.
The employment tribunal held that the employer discriminated against the claimant on the ground of age by making him redundant because he was close to retirement. The tribunal drew an inference of age bias against the claimant from workplace banter related to age, including colleagues nicknaming him "Yoda".
In this unusual case, a job applicant who passed three interview stages, but had her conditional offer of employment withdrawn over poor psychometric testing results, unsuccessfully claimed age discrimination.
In Woodcock v Cumbria Primary Care Trust [2012] IRLR 491 CA, the Court of Appeal held that the employer was justified in issuing a redundancy dismissal notice to an employee prior to formal consultation so as to avoid his remaining in its employment until his 50th birthday.
The European Court of Justice has upheld the Swedish law that allows an employer to terminate an employee's contract of employment on the sole ground that he or she has reached the age of 67, taking no account of the pension that the employee will receive.
The European Court of Justice has held that a clause in a collective agreement excluding professional experience acquired with another company in the same group when grading pay is not discriminatory on the ground of age.
Sinead Jones is an associate, and Phil Dupres and Beckie Howlett are trainee solicitors at Addleshaw Goddard. They round up the latest rulings.
Georgina Kyriacou and David Malamatenios are partners and Sandra Martins, Colin Makin and Krishna Santra are associates at Colman Coyle Solicitors. They round up the latest rulings.
The Supreme Court has provided guidance on the components needed to justify a compulsory retirement age, stressing that the chosen retirement age has to be appropriate and necessary in that particular business. It went on to say that, once a retirement age is justified for a workplace or group of workers, the employer does not have to justify every retirement on an individual basis.
Employment law cases: HR and legal information and guidance relating to age discrimination.