Abstract: This article argues that there is a contradiction contained within the Framework Directive on Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation and the UK Government?s proposals for implementing it. There is a distinction between the business justification for encouraging diversity in the workforce and the human rights justification for ending age discrimination. The first approach weakens the latter by legitimising continued discrimination on the basis of age. This is especially important because there is a close relationship between age discrimination and discrimination on the grounds of sex, race and disability.
International Journal of Comparative Labour Law and Industrial Relations