Hiring policy

A. If the employer’s policy of not hiring under the age of 20 on some of its sites is because those sites are more hazardous, then that policy may be lawful.

Statistics show that younger workers are more likely to suffer accidents on building sites — probably due to lack of experience and less developed physical strength.

If the employer is acting in response to this fact in order to protect young people from health and safety risks then its behaviour, although discriminatory on the grounds of age, may be justified (that is, a proportionate response in pursuit of a legitimate aim).

The question is what age threshold is justified: 18 years of age probably would be lawful, while 25 years old probably would not be.

Beyond that the position is a little vague — to be able to say definitively whether a bar on workers under the age of 20 makes sense, the union will need to bring a tribunal case for age discrimination.