Brussels, 27/02/2015 (Agence Europe) - The Court of Justice of the EU ruled on Thursday 26 February that, when a worker is made redundant, the employer may choose not to pay special redundancy compensation (calculated on the length of time spent with the company) if the worker has reached retirement age.
Danish law states that a worker eligible for retirement pension (from the age of 65) loses the right to special redundancy compensation where he/she decides to continue in paid employment or where he/she requests that payment of his/her pension be deferred. Does such a provision comply with the directive (2000/78/EC) putting in place a general framework to ensure equal treatment for individuals in employment and work? That was the question put to the Court of Justice by the Danish court.
In its ruling in case C-515/13, the Court, though noting a difference in treatment based on age, considered that that seemed to be justified objectively and reasonably in terms of a legitimate employment and labour market policy goal. The special compensation is designed to help workers who might find it difficult to find new employment given the number of years they have spent with the company. Not paying the compensation to those who are retiring or those who are in a position to be able to retire thus seems reasonable, the Court decided. (Jan Kordys)