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Age Discrimination
December 2008
Claims on the increase
According to recent research, age is rapidly becoming the main discrimination related grievance amongst UK employees. So what are the key risk areas that you should be aware of?
Workplace ageism is rife
Despite the fact that the UK has an ageing population, age discrimination has been a long established feature of the workplace. New legislation was introduced in October 2006 to try to combat it but little seems to have changed. In fact, if new research is anything to go by, age discrimination is very much a workplace issue. So what’s the latest news and what are the main areas of potential liability that employers like you could face?
Legal overview
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 were introduced in order to bring UK legislation in line with the EU Equal Treatment Directive. This provides protection from direct and indirect discrimination (unless justified), harassment and victimisation on the grounds of age. So in the employment context, these Regulations aim to offer equality of access to jobs, training and promotion opportunities. The default retirement age was also raised to 65. However, as age discrimination is so long-standing in the UK, many employers have been slow to change their attitudes, if at all.
Age bias
YouGov recently carried out research into the extent of age bias and surveyed 2,000 British workers. Of those, 11% felt that they had been discriminated against on the grounds of their age. Interestingly, this is 3% more than those who felt that they had been subject to sex discrimination at work. If this sample is fairly representative, it could have implications for future claims. This is because for 2006/7, sex discrimination topped the type of discrimination claim brought against employers at tribunals. Also a survey of 166 HR directors, by the outsourcing provider Hy-phen, Found that less than 50% believed that their organisation was achieving high standards of compliance with age discrimination legislation. This research refers to larger organisations, so the figure is likely to be far higher for a typical SME.
Key risk areas
Below are several risk areas which could see you having to defend an age-related tribunal claim. There is no upper limit to the compensation the tribunal can award in these types of case:
- Discriminatory job ads. Where age is specified or age-related terms are used, e.g. “youthful and dynamic” to imply that a younger worker is wanted for a particular position
- Stereotypes. Set view of workers based on their age, e.g. young staff being seen as unreliable and immature.
- Lack of opportunities. Fort example, denying older staff training and promotion
- Dismissal. Trying to dismiss an employee whilst they are under the age of 65.
Tip 1. Review job ads and application forms to ensure that references to age are removed, along with requests for a set number of years’ experience. Assess the questions that are asked in job interviews to see to see if any are indirectly age-related.
Tip 2. When your managers deal with employment issues, instruct them to keep their focus on the skills/experience necessary to do a job and not the age of the individual.
The risk areas remain recruitment, denying training and promotion due to age, stereotyping and the sacking of older staff. Reduce the risks by reviewing your recruitment process and keeping your focus on the skills of the job.
Source: Tips & Advice Personnel October 30 2008
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