The EHRC has responsibility for overseeing the application of all the Equality Legislation in the
More than three years after the introduction of the Age Discrimination Regulations nothing has really changed in Financial Recruitment. We are asking the EHRC to act against the blatant breaches of the rules by recruitment agencies. It is time this discrimination stopped..
Law in practice: discriminatory job advertisements
http://www.personneltoday.com/articles/2008/12/01/47262/law-in-practice-discriminatory-job-advertisements.html
Recruitment advertising has been in the spotlight recently after a landmark ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) found that job adverts could amount to direct discrimination.
In the case of Centrum voor gelijkheid van kansen en voor racismebestrijding v Firma Feryn, the court found that a job advert by a Belgian company, which stated it did not employ 'immigrants' because its clients did not like dealing with them, was tantamount to direct discrimination on the grounds of race.
The ruling overturned the
Until now, proceedings could only be brought by the Equality and Human Rights Commission on behalf of individuals but after the ECJ ruling individuals can now bring claims as well
Ms Keane asked the Equality Commission for help at the outset of her case. The Equality Commission responded that her case “would not advance the strategic objectives of the commissions”. In fact it would seem that the fight against age discrimination is not included in the strategic objectives of the EHRC.
More recently Ms Keane sent the commission details of discriminatory advertisements from Financial Recruiters, including many advertisements produced and published by Robert Walters PLC. The EHRC initially claimed that they had no power to act against discriminatory advertising but after Ms Keane forwarded them the article above and communication from the Equality Commission in
However they have so far failed to act. In a letter to Ms Keane dated 13 November 2009, the EHRC say: “The Equality Act gives the Commission power to challenge advertisers and, potentially, publishers (we are seeking Counsel’s advice on this point) of advertisements which discriminate on the grounds of age and we will use our legal strategy to determine when to do so. Because we have limited resources, our legal strategy prioritises cases that will have the widest possible impact and/or addresses grey areas in the law and, even with priority cases, we always take steps to resolve matters with the parties directly with legal proceedings being used as a last resort when necessary”