ABSTRACT
Age is a really interesting protected characteristic because everyone has an age and so the whole population is at risk of ageism or some form of related discrimination. It is also not a static characteristic, because most people will 'progress' through various stages from youth to old age. The population of the world is ageing rapidly. At the beginning of the twenty-first century the number of older people was approximately 600 million. Age discrimination is a manifestation of ageism, which is about having an essentially negative image of older people. Age discrimination also takes place outside the labour market and one survey gave some examples where it has been suggested that discrimination takes place against older people. The Court of Justice considered a situation where German law allowed for the employer to conclude, without restriction, fixed-term contracts of employment with employees over the age of 52 years.
