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Gordon Lishman‚ director general of Age Concern said:
“This is a set back‚ but it is not a disaster. Not having the Advocate General’s support for our case is disappointing for us and for the millions of older workers in the UK.

“The Advocate General's opinion confirms that the EU Directive requires age discrimination to be justified.  It’s now up to the UK government to prove to the High Court that their  social and employment policies are important enough to justify kicking people out of work at 65. Until then‚ older workers face more uncertainty about their right to work.

“Millions of older workers in the EU will be fuming that the Advocate General thinks ageism counts for less than other forms of discrimination. This is not a minority issue. In the UK ageism is already the most commonly experienced form of prejudice and more than a million people are already working past state pension age.”

Ailsa Olgive‚ director of Heyday‚ said:
“We are challenging this law because it is costing good workers their jobs. If the European Court confirms this opinion‚ the case would then have to go back to the High Court in London for a final decision. We hope the High Court would not want to remove the choice for people to work in later life if they wish to or if they need to.

“Denying people work because of their date of birth is grossly unfair‚ and in these tough times we expect more people will need to carry on working into ‘retirement’ in order to make ends meet.”

ENDS

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