Surely we can be expected to select a 60 year-old for a job that requires two years training?
It depends – partly on the job, and partly on the individual. Assuming, first, that two years’ training is really necessary – not in theory, but in practice – and secondly, that the individual in question will want to retire at 65, you may be able to justify different treatment on grounds of age (‘objective justification’: see questions 27 and 28, below). But the test of objective justification is a stiff one, and you will have to be able to produce evidence to back your assertions. Take legal advice. However, a case in 2008 is encouraging for employers. An employer’s new pay structure required employees to hold a law degree to qualify for a higher pay grade. A 61-year old employee argued (correctly) that he did not have time to obtain the qualification before retiring. On that basis, he brought a claim before the employment tribunal for indirect age discrimination. The Employment Tribunal upheld the claim, on the ground that employees in the age range 60-65 were discriminated against
