Addressing age stereotyping against older workers in employment: the CJEU and UK approach

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to report on an analysis of direct age discrimination cases by the Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) and the UK courts and employment tribunals over an 11 year period. The paper focuses upon age stereotyping towards older workers and analyses whether it is endorsed at European and/or national level. Design/methodology/approach – This research has analysed a sample of 100 employment tribunal judgments concerning direct age discrimination together with 28 CJEU decisions on direct age discrimination. Findings – This paper highlights that there are a number of cases in which age stereotyping has been endorsed at CJEU level. By contrast the UK courts and employment tribunals have adopted a more robust approach. Research limitations/implications – The main limitation is that it only considers case law from the European Court and the influence on the UK case law, without analysing the eventual decisions of the other EU member states. Originality/Value –The paper contributes to the debate with regards to the approach of the CJEU in tackling age stereotyping and is the first to examine the influence it has had on the UK jurisprudence over the period studied. Keywords -Age Stereotyping, Direct Age Discrimination, Case law, Employment legislation, Framework Employment Directive 2000/78.Paper type - Research paper