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Legislation was introduced on 1 October 2006 to provide legal protection against age discrimination. It is no longer lawful to discriminate on grounds of age. Treating staff fairly and recognising an individual's talents and needs is not just the right thing to do, but makes good business sense as well.
Employers are now banned from forcing workers to retire before the age of 65. After that, they must give any employees over the age of 65 at least 6 months' notice before their retirement. Employees will be able to remain in their job beyond the age of 65 if their employer agrees.
Although there is no statutory definition of age discrimination in the UK, age discrimination can be explained as occurring when someone treats a person less favourably because of that person's age, and uses this as a basis for prejudice against and unfair treatment of that person.
Age discrimination in employment can:
Age, age-related criteria or age ranges, should not be used in advertisements other than to encourage applications from age groups which do not usually apply. Where this is the case, it should be clearly stated.
It is desirable to state that age criteria will not be taken into account in employment decisions but used only for monitoring purposes. This information can be asked for in a 'tear-off' section of the application form, and be kept separate from the application process. However it is safest not to ask at all.
Interviewers and those concerned with selection, must not be subjective on the basis of physical characteristics and unfounded assumptions, and must ensure their decisions are based on objective criteria, relevant to the job and merit.
All employees should be eligible for training and development programmes, as there is the potential to waste talent if particular age groups, e.g. those near retirement, are automatically excluded.
An individual's age should not be used to make judgements about their abilities or fitness. Where such a judgement is required, an occupational health or medical practitioner should be consulted.
When releasing employees, the organisation's future needs for knowledge, skills and competencies should be taken into account; the 'corporate memory' needs protection.
Alternatives to redundancy should be considered, such as shorter hours, part-time working, contractual arrangements, secondments and perhaps employment breaks.
Alternatives to retirement may be considered, such as shorter hours, part-time working, contractual arrangements, secondments and perhaps employment breaks.
