840.This is a new provision. Following the ruling of the European Court of Justice in Coleman v Attridge Law and another (Case C-303/06) [2008] ECR I-5603) it could potentially be direct discrimination for an employer to treat an employee less favourably because of the age of an employee’s child. There is, therefore, a potential impact on the provision of facilities, such as child care, where access is limited by reference to the child’s age.
841.The exception allows employers to continue to offer employees child care facilities based on the age of a child without being open to a challenge of direct discrimination from other employees.