Age discrimination

Case 8: The facts

John Rutherford and Samuel Bentley were made redundant when they were over the age of 65. The Employment Rights Act 1996 (ERA) says that employees over the age of 65 (or another "normal retirement age" in a workplace) cannot claim unfair dismissal or a redundancy payment.

Both brought claims for sex discrimination on the grounds that the upper age limit was discriminatory against men. They argued that a significantly higher proportion of men than women carry on working after the age of 65.

The ruling

The Court of Appeal held that the claimants had used the wrong pool to establish whether the upper age limit affected more men than women. They should have looked at the entire workforce to whom the limit applies. These figures show little difference between the numbers of men and women affected; therefore the claimants could not show that the age limit had a disproportionate effect on men, and their claims failed.

Rutherford and Bentley v Secretary of State for Trade and industry [2004] IRLR 892