The employment tribunal in this case found that comments from two managers in capability meetings, suggesting that an underperforming older worker might consider early retirement, constituted age discrimination.
In Rosenbladt v Oellerking Gebäudereinigungsges mbH [2011] IRLR 51 ECJ, the ECJ held that art.6(1) of the Equal Treatment Framework Directive does not necessarily preclude domestic legislation that permits the use of automatic termination clauses based on the retirement age, or the use of such clauses in collective agreements. The crucial issue is whether or not such measures are objectively justified.
In this case, the employment tribunal held that an employer placed too much emphasis on an employee's "flippant" and "sarcastic" attitude during a disciplinary hearing and failed properly to consider the flaws in the evidence against him.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has held that, where an employee is dismissed primarily because of a breakdown in trust and confidence rather than conduct, the employer's contractual disciplinary procedures will not apply.
In this case, the industrial tribunal in Northern Ireland ordered a care worker's former employer to pay her £9,500 for sex discrimination after it failed to provide her with a reference.