The European Court of Justice has held that a rule in a collective agreement applicable to the crew of the German airline Deutsche Lufthansa prohibiting pilots from flying after the age of 60 is discriminatory on the ground of age.
In this decision, the employment tribunal was critical of a local authority that failed to keep an employee at risk of redundancy in employment for six more months during a transitional period. The decision had been taken to avoid a pension payout and constituted direct age discrimination and unfair dismissal.
This unusual age discrimination claim was brought by a contract worker with poor people skills who believed that his contract was terminated because of his youth.
The Employment Appeal Tribunal has confirmed that a proposed adjustment will constitute a "reasonable adjustment" within the meaning of the Disability Discrimination Act 1995 only where it prevents the provision, criterion or practice that places the disabled person at a substantial disadvantage.
This case is an example of a common scenario for employers that operate in male-dominated environments: a challenge to the authority of a female manager by a group of male employees who are not used to being managed by a woman.