This week the European Court of Justice in Luxembourg have begun hearing a significant case which could have important repercussions for workers and employers throughout the UK.
Age Concern claim that the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations introduced in 2006 breach the EU’s Equal Treatment Directive. While the UK regulations do ban discrimination on the grounds of age in the workplace, they make an exception when it comes to retirement, making it legal for employers to dismiss workers without having to make redundancy payouts once they reach 65, or the mandatory retirement age of the company if it is above 65.
Heyday, Age Concern’s retirement arm, took issue over this provision, arguing that it runs contrary to EU anti-discrimination directives. If the European Court of Justice decides in their favour, the implications could be dramatic.
Currently, compensation claims by employees forced to leave work after reaching retirement age have been put on hold pending the European ruling. If the claim is successful, employers could find themselves liable for what is arguably a failure on the part of the UK Government to correctly interpret European Union legislation.
If you are currently facing an issue regarding age discrimination at work, either as an employee or an employer, contact Ashby Cohen today to see how we can help you. As specialist UK employment law solicitors with many years of experience in this field, we are ideally qualified to assist you with any employment-related problems you may have.
