Britain’s biggest union today won what it hailed as a landmark ruling in one of the first cases on age discrimination to be considered by the courts.

A judge in the High Court in London ruled in favour of Unite in a legal dispute with Rolls-Royce over whether long service should be taken into account when selecting workers for redundancy.

The union hailed the ruling as setting a precedent for protecting older workers from redundancy.

Rolls-Royce argued that taking long service into account amounted to unlawful indirect age discrimination against younger employees. The company claimed that part of a long-standing redundancy selection agreement was unlawful in the light of 2006 regulations that outlaw certain types of age or service-related discrimination.

Derek Simpson, Unite joint general secretary, said after the ruling by Sir Thomas Morison: “When an economic downturn bites, older workers often find it harder to find alternative employment when they are made redundant.

“This landmark ruling will give many older workers some extra protection during these difficult times.”

The case arose out of the use of a points-based redundancy selection scheme.

Employees are scored against various criteria, including achievement, self-motivation, expertise and versatility. A point is awarded to each worker for every year of service.

Sir Thomas said Rolls-Royce had contended that the length of service criterion in collective agreements relating to the company’s Derby and Hucknall sites was “unlawful age discrimination which cannot be justified”. The union argued that it was lawful.

Finding for the union, Sir Thomas said: “The criterion of length of service respects the loyalty and experience of the older workforce and protects the older employees from being put onto the labour market at a time when they are particularly likely to find alternative employment hard to find.”

The judge gave Rolls-Royce permission to appeal his ruling saying it was “clearly an important point for both parties”.

David Reade, QC, a barrister at Littleton Chambers, said: "The battleground of age discrimination is justification and this judgment appears to provide significant support for those justifying policies which favour longer serving, and therefore probably older, workers."

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