Abstract
The principle of non-discrimination on grounds of age has been declared an autonomous EU law principle by the European Court of Justice. This principle has been specified in a Directive, but its scope of application is currently limited to employment and occupational activities. The Directive protects both younger and older workers from being directly or indirectly discriminated due to their age. However, given the specificity of age as a factor of discrimination, the Directive allows the Member States to apply some derogations to this principle if, within the context of national law, they are objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim. In the present contribution, we intend to analyse the Court’s application and interpretation of the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of age as established in the Directive and comment on some of the most relevant preliminary rulings. In many of these rulings, the Court was asked whether the Directive precludes national norms which establish a mandatory retirement age or foresee the termination of the employment contract when the worker reaches a certain age. The Court’s interpretation of the principle of non-discrimination on grounds of age, as established in the Directive, could contribute to easing some of the EU´s current economic, social and demographic challenges and to the improvement of European workers’ lives; however, the Court seems to accept Member States’ derogations to this principle too easily.
Highlights
The principle of non-discrimination on grounds of age has been declared an autonomous European Union (EU) law principle by the European Court of Justice
In contrast with the United States of America, where the Federal Age Discrimination in Employment Act only offers protection to older workers, based on the premise that these people are especially vulnerable, the EU Directive precludes national dispositions which are discriminatory to people of a certain age group: either by disfavouring younger employees[3] or by establishing regimes which are detrimental to older workers
Regarding the second group of cases, where the discrimination works against older employees, there is a high number of preliminary rulings raising the question of whether national norms establishing the automatic termination of employment relationships when workers reach a certain age are compatible with the Directive.[11]
Summary
Regarding the second group of cases, where the discrimination works against older employees, there is a high number of preliminary rulings raising the question of whether national norms establishing the automatic termination of employment relationships when workers reach a certain age are compatible with the Directive.11
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