Brussels, 05/03/2009 (Agence Europe) - In a ruling on Thursday 5 March (Case C-388/07), the Court of Justice of the European Communities states that national legislation may depart from the ban on discrimination on grounds of age set out in the directive for the creation of a general framework in favour of equal treatment in employment and occupation (2000/78/EC) as long as the exemption is “a proportionate means to achieve a legitimate social policy objective related to employment policy, the labour market or vocational training”.
Directive 2000/78 prohibits discrimination on grounds of age as regards employment and occupation but, by way of exception, it provides that certain differences of treatment on grounds of age do not constitute discrimination. The United Kingdom regulations which transpose the directive provide that employees who have reached their employer's normal retirement age or the age of 65 may be dismissed for reason of retirement without such treatment being regarded as discriminatory. The National Council on Ageing (Age Concern England), a charity which promotes the well-being of older people, challenged the legality of that legislation on the grounds that it does not properly transpose the directive. In its ruling, the Court notes that the aims which may be considered “legitimate” by the directive and, consequently, appropriate for the purposes of justifying derogation from the principle prohibiting discrimination on grounds of age, are social policy objectives. According to the Court, it is therefore up to the national court to ascertain, firstly, whether the United Kingdom legislation reflects such a legitimate aim and, secondly, whether the means chosen were appropriate and necessary to achieve it. (O.L./transl.jl)