House of Lords to hear age discrimination case

The House of Lords has today confirmed that it will hear the appeal of two men fighting for older workers to have employment rights.

Mr John Rutherford and Mr Samuel Bentley had been dismissed from their jobs in the clothing industry as they were over 65, but the law did not allow them to bring their cases to an employment tribunal to claim compensation for unfair dismissal or to claim for redundancy payment.

They had initially won their case at an Employment Tribunal, which effectively gave thousands of people working beyond retirement age employment rights for the first time.

However, the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry went to the Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) which overturned the first tribunalís decision.

In 2004 the two men failed in their attempt to get this decision overturned in the Court of Appeal.

Mr Rutherford, of Rainham in Essex, is represented by Paul Quain of law firm Charles Russell in London; and Mr Bentley, from Islington, London, is represented by Anna Corrigan, of Islington Law Centre. Robin Allen QC is counsel for both men. Mr Rutherford is being advised by Charles Russell on a Pro Bono basis.

Paul Quain, of Charles Russellís Employment & Pensions Group, said: We are pleased that the House of Lords is willing to hear this case. The House of Lords only hears appeals if the case involves a point of law of general public importance that it ought to consider. We believe we have a strong case that raises important questions about the way we treat older workers.

Until the UK implements the age discrimination strand of the EU Directive on Equal Treatment in October 2006, age discrimination per se is not outlawed in the UK.