R (Carson and Reynolds) v. Secretary of State for Work and Pensions

"R v. SS for Work and Pensions ex parte Carson and Reynolds" [2005] UKHL 37 is a UK labour law and Human Rights Act 1998 case on age discrimination.

Facts

Ms Reynolds was under 25 in a council flat, on jobseekers and income support. She got £41.35 and if she was over 25 she would have got £52.20. She claimed this breached Article 14 ECHR. The Secretary of State said 18-24 year olds earn less, mostly do not live independently, they should be discouraged from living independently, there is welfare support for this group in other ways, and good administration depends on clear rules like this.

Judgment

The House of Lords accepted the Secretary of State's arguments. Lord Walker drew on US law ("San Antonio School District v. Rodriguez" (1973) 411 US 1; "Massachusetts Board of Retirement v. Murgia" (1976) 427 US 307) and Lord Nicholls in "Ghaidan v. Godin-Mendoza" [2004] 2 AC 557, 568, saying they would intensely scrutinise race, sex and orientation justifications. But age was not in that.

It is "a personal characteristic," said Lord Walker, "but it is different in kind from other personal characteristics. Every human being starts life as a tiny infant and none of us can do anything to stop the passage of the years." Lines must be drawn somewhere, and following "Murgia", "drawing lines which create distinctions is peculiarly a legislative task and an unavoidable one. Perfection in making the necessary classifications is neither possible nor necessary." It was also noted that the age qualification had replaced a previous unworkable qualification of householders and non-householders.

ee also

*UK employment discrimination law
*UK labour law
*Human Rights Act 1998

*"Mangold v. Helm" [2006] IRLR 143, German laws exempted workers from fixed term contract protection if over 52 years old. The ECJ held that though the aim was legitimate (integrating older workers into the labour market) the means were not proportionate. The point was made that it applied without distinctions, e.g. whether or not workers had been unemployed before and for how long. ‘Member States unarguably enjoy broad discretion in their choice of the measures capable of attaining their objectives in the field of social and employment policy.’ (at 63)

Notes