Older Workers, Unfair Dismissal, and Age Discrimination Law: Strengthening Employment Protection? Comparative Perspectives from Australia and the UK
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2025-01-22
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Older Workers, Active Ageing, and the Future of Work Discourses and Legal Advancements
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Kluwer Law International B.V.
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Melbourne Law School
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Blackham, A. (2025). Older Workers, Unfair Dismissal, and Age Discrimination Law: Strengthening Employment Protection? Comparative Perspectives from Australia and the UK. Julén Votinius, J (Ed.). Rönnmar, M (Ed.). Older Workers, Active Ageing, and the Future of Work Discourses and Legal Advancements, (1), Kluwer Law International B.V..
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Abstract
Dismissal, retirement and redundancy are critical points in the employment relationship where older workers might be subject to unfair treatment. In the Australian Human Rights Commission’s (AHRC) National Prevalence Survey, of those who had experienced age discrimination at work in the last two years (n = 309), 11% reported that they had experienced poor treatment that resulted in them leaving the job or had been made redundant or dismissed, and 12% reported being threatened with redundancy or dismissal, or being asked to retire. While this is less frequent than other reported experiences of age discrimination (such as having limited employment, promotion, or training opportunities, at 52% of affected respondents), the consequences of experiencing discrimination at the point of dismissal, retirement or redundancy are personally and financially significant for older workers.
Drawing on a mixed-method, multi-year comparative study of the enforcement of age discrimination law in the UK and Australia, this chapter interrogates the relationship between age discrimination law and unfair dismissal, particularly as it affects older workers. Integrating statistical analysis of claims and cases, including 1,208 reported UK Employment Tribunal decisions and 108 Australian cases; qualitative expert interviews with 101 expert respondents; and a survey of 76 legal practitioners and advocates who work in this area, I consider the ways in which age discrimination and unfair dismissal are linked in practice, and whether these linkages work to strengthen or undermine employment protection.