The European Court of Justice rules out age limit

In 1993, a chairman was elected and ended up staying on the post until 2011, when she turned 63. In the years she was chairman, she received a monthly salary for her work. However, although she wanted to run for chairman again, she could not. This was due to a rule in the organization that, among other things, prohibited the election of a chairman who had turned 60 on the election day.

The chairman complained to the Danish Board of Equal Treatment, which agreed that she had been subject to discrimination based on her age. The organization did not follow the decision and was therefore brought before the Danish High Court and later to the European Court of Justice.

Discrimination, no matter the industry

The rules on non-discrimination also apply to elections in employee organizations. This was the conclusion of the European Court of Justice, which added that the non-discrimination rules cover any occupational activity - thereby also a paid occupation. For that reason, it is also irrelevant which industry is concerned.

The exceptions to the EU rules on non-discrimination are narrow, and only a few groups are exempted – for example, the prohibition does not apply to the military.

IUNO’s opinion

Only a few scenarios allow for a lawful age limit. The question, therefore, is whether it is even feasible, as employees are not the only group covered by the discrimination rules.

IUNO recommends that companies are aware of existing and future age limits. This could, for example, be useful for managing directors or members of the board of directors, who may not enjoy the same protection as employees.

[The European Court of Justice in case C-587/20 of 2 June 2022]