Can an employer specify a minimum number of years service in a job?
Specifying a minimum number of years service can be a form of indirect discrimination that an employer may be able to justify if they can show that it is a ‘proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim’. In this case they employer could argue that it is a way of encouraging and rewarding loyalty My employer requires anyone working over 60 to have an annual medical If the employer requires the annual medical for health and safety or because of other statutory provision then they may ask for a medical, or that the medicals are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. My employer is offering a voluntary redundancy package but restricts it to over 50s Although this type of voluntary redundancy package is discriminatory an employer may be able to justify it. For example if the employer could show that the policy was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aims, such as ensuring they retained an effective workforce, then the policy could be lawful.
