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W oodcock v C umbria P rimary C are T rust : The Objective Justification Test for Age Discrimination
Author(s) -
Lane Jackie
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the modern law review
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.37
H-Index - 22
eISSN - 1468-2230
pISSN - 0026-7961
DOI - 10.1111/1468-2230.12006
Subject(s) - economic justice , jurisprudence , age discrimination , test (biology) , law and economics , law , political science , actuarial science , economics , sociology , business , paleontology , biology
This note discusses the limits to the defence of objective justification when applied to direct age discrimination, specifically with regard to situations where the employer attempts to rely on cost‐saving as a legitimate aim. The author examines the jurisprudence of the Court of Justice of the E uropean U nion (formerly the E uropean Court of Justice, ECJ ) on which this case relies, and considers whether the defence has been interpreted too widely, opening up the possibility of cost‐saving as a defence to discrimination on the grounds of this particular protected characteristic. The note concludes that, while cost‐saving cannot be the sole justification for less favourable treatment by employers, it may nevertheless form part of an overall legitimate aim when coupled with additional factors.