A recent marketing survey revealed that ageism is the most common form of discrimination in the work place. Of those questioned, 38% said they had been discriminated against in the workplace on the grounds of age. That statistic could translate into a flurry of claims when anti-age discrimination laws come into force in October.
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 (click here to view the DTI, Employment Relations web page in a new window) were laid before Parliament on 9 March and will come into effect on 1 October 2006. From that date it will be unlawful to discriminate against someone on the basis of his/her age in practically all areas of the employment field. Please click here to open a summary of the different forms of discrimination in a new window.
Over the next weeks we will be producing a series of Law-Now articles on the key topics and issues arising from the new regulations. As age discrimination in UK and Europe is something that can affect people of any age (unlike in the USA), we have chosen 7 categories which highlight the most significant areas where the regulations will have an impact.
The 7 categories we will cover are:
- Young workers
- Recruitment
- Pay and benefits (including policies and practices)
- Promotion
- Unfair dismissal
- Redundancy
- Retirement
