Age Discrimination Are you Ready?
The Age Discrimination Regulations come into force on 1st October 2006 but how prepared is your organisation for the new age legislation?
What do the regulations aim to do?
The regulations will help to ensure that people are no longer denied jobs or harassed because of their age. It will mean that workers of all ages will have an equal chance of training and promotion.
What does it mean for employers
The regulations provide important rights and responsibilities for every employer and business in the UK.
The legislation outlaws all forms of discrimination on the grounds of age including victimisation in a similar way to other anti discrimination legislation. However, age discrimination will remain lawful if it can be justified. This is because it is likely to take many years to establish in case law what types of discrimination can be justified. There remains a good deal of uncertainty surrounding the practical implications of this legislation.
What should employers do now?
Your first step is to carry out a review of your current policies and procedures especially in relation to service related benefits. You should assess whether any changes are necessary to ensure compliance with the Age Discrimination Regulations. Once this has been decided remember to inform everyone who is involved and decide on timescales to ensure everyone (including employees) is aware of the process. Staff should be given key points of contact in case of any queries.
Also check the company retirement age. If it is below 65 it will need either to be adjusted or the company must form arguments to justify why it should remain lower than the national default retirement age.
Changes with regards to retirement?
One of its unique features relates to retirement. From 1st October 2006 retirement will be a potentially fair reason for dismissal. However, Employers will be required to inform Employees in writing at least six months in advance of the date upon which it is intended they will retire. A national default retirement age has been set at 65 but the normal retirement age within an organisation may be higher or lower than this. Failure to give notice of the retirement date will render the retirement an automatically unfair dismissal and there is no limit to the amount of compensation which can be awarded in these circumstances.
Once notified, an Employee will have the right to request to continue working beyond retirement. Upon receipt of a request to continue working, Employers then have a duty to meet with the Employee and deal with any subsequent appeal of the decision whether or not to grant their request. Failure to consider a request will entitle the Employee to complain to a Tribunal and compensation of up to 8 weeks pay could be awarded.
Service related benefits
Another feature of the legislation concerns Service Related Benefits. Those benefits which apply within the first five years of employment will be lawful if applied to all employees doing similar work and a job evaluation exercise may be necessary if different types of workers receive different benefits. Service related benefits which accrue after the first five years of employment may be lawful but only if the Employer can demonstrate that their purpose is to reward long service or encourage loyalty.
For Further Help?
Keoghs are holding a FREE seminar to explain the legislation in detail, exploring its application in a practical context and demonstrating ways to ensure compliance in company policies and procedure. This event will be taking place at 4.30pm at our Bolton office on Thursday 13th July. For further information contact Julie Taylor at jtaylor@keoghs.co.uk or on 01204 677021 or book on-line on our website.
For more information on this subject contact: Kevin McKenna Head of Employment at kmckenna@keoghs.co.uk or 01204 677070
Disclaimer of Liability: Nothing in this document constitutes legal advice. You should always consult a suitably qualified lawyer about any specific legall matter. Keoghs assumes no responsibility for the information in this document and disclaims all liability relating to such information.
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