An EU Perspective on Age as a Distinguishing Criterion for Collective Dismissal: The Case of Belgium and The Netherlands

As a result of the economic crisis in the European Union, many companies have been forced to reorganize their activities in an attempt to cope with the substantial difficulties they face. Collective dismissals may be the ultimum remedium for the company to survive. This article considers whether an employer can dismiss an employee, merely based on age and, more specifically, pursuant to national legislation containing an age-pyramid principle (Belgium) or mirror-principle (the Netherlands). EU legislation and case law on discrimination on the basis of age are analysed to establish whether age... Mehr ...