Rosenbladt v Oellerking Gebäudereinigungsges

The Court of Justice of the European Union (CJEU) has given an important ruling that will be of interest to UK employers deciding whether to retain a compulsory retirement age following the government’s decision to abolish the default retirement age in 2011. The case concerned a collective agreement in Germany for employees in the commercial cleaning sector. The agreement provided for automatic termination of employment at the age of 65. Although this clearly discriminated against older workers, the CJEU ruled that it was justified and, therefore, was not unlawful.