Age discrimination: requirement to have a degree did not indirectly discriminate against employees approaching retirement

In (1) Chief Constable of West Yorkshire Police (2) West Yorkshire Police Authority and others v Homer UKEAT/0191/08 the EAT held that a tribunal had erred when it found that a requirement to possess a law degree to move into the band at the top of an employer's career structure had indirectly discriminated against an employee on grounds of age. The EAT held that the financial disadvantage that resulted from being unable to complete a degree before retirement was the inevitable consequence of age, not a consequence of age discrimination. However, the EAT also held that, had there been prima facie discrimination, the tribunal would have been entitled to find that it was not justified.