Member Article

In two decisions of 18 October 2012 the Danish Board of Equal Treatment found that it is not permitted to use criteria in job
advertisements that indicate that the advertisement is targeted at younger applicants.

In the first case a 57 year old job applicant had complained that an industry association in a job advertisement had stated that emphasis was placed on the applicants having "a few years' experience or were newly graduates". The claimant argued that this was indicative of the industry association wanting younger applicants.

The defendant argued that this was not a matter of discrimination and referred to the fact that they usually received applications from applicants with other backgrounds than what was envisaged in the job advertisement, and, moreover, the defendant argued that
there was not necessarily a connection between age and seniority.

The Board of Equal Treatment found that indirect discrimination had occurred as a seemingly neutral condition placed individuals of a certain age in a more disadvantageous position compared to other individuals. The reason is that the combination of the criteria "newly graduate" and "a few years' experience" created an assumption that the industry association expected younger applicants
and that it reduced older applicants' possibility of obtaining employment.

In the second case the applicant was 58 years of age and complained about a job advertisement in which it appeared that a ministry wanted an employee who was a "newly graduate" and who had "high professional skills as well as a relevant student job". The claimant argued that these criteria were discriminating older applicants.

The defendant emphasised that the words "newly graduate" did not refer to the desired applicant's age, but to someone who could enter employment at a chief clerk level, and that a relevant student job was a factor to which they attached importance, but not an
exhaustive list.

Also here, the Board of Equal Treatment found that indirect discrimination had occurred as the criteria "newly graduate" and relevant student job" had created an assumption that the job advertisement was targeted at younger applicants and that it reduced older applicants' possibility of obtaining employment.

The decisions show that if a company attaches importance to several - on its own - seemingly neutral criteria, such as "newly graduate", "relevant student job" or "a few years' experience", this creates an assumption that the company wants young employees which is contrary to the Danish Act on Prohibition against Discrimination in respect of Employment.