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Countdown to ageism legislation - 1 October 2006

It is astonishing that we have worked for so long without any legal protection against age discrimination.

We all know discrimination is unacceptable, but without any formal safeguard many people are ostracised, restricted or categorised because of their age.

Being young, old or not quite the right age for this role has for many prohibited their career progression and this is deplorable!

People are living longer. National Statistics show that girls and boys who were born in 2004 could expect on average to live to 81 and 77 respectively. Trends also suggest that many are living healthier lifestyles meaning that people are capable of working far longer than the national retirement age.

Vocational qualifications and fast track schemes have also meant that younger workers have the potential to bound up hierarchic ladders far quicker than their predecessors.

There certainly is a business case for preventing age discrimination. Organisations should want to have the most talented people running and serving their business interests no matter their age.

Making assumptions about a person's ability based on their age is becoming illogical and assuming stereotypes may mean that organisations are writing off some very gifted and experienced people.

Pensionable age is also changing. The recent Pensions White Paper [May 2006] sets out the future of pensions in the 21st Century. By 2044, the state pensionable age will rise to 68.

Pensions will become more generous and will relate more to earnings rather than prices. Qualification for a pension will also be cut to just 30 years. People will not only be living longer but working longer too!

For a long time, legislation on age and discrimination has needed reform. From 1 October 2006, discriminating against a person because of their age is to be outlawed and organisations will have to make some radical process changes [The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006].

Even advertising for a ‘mature’ candidate when recruiting may be deemed discriminatory. Under the new legislation, employees will be allowed to request to work beyond the age of 65.

This will also mean that employers will be banned from forcing employees to retire before this time too. Further, it will ensure retirement is not misused to cover up unfair dismissal as organisations will have to give their employees six months notice of their retirement due date.

This is positive news. However, it is still under scrutiny. Working rights group Heyday intends to take the government to high court over this new legislation.

The rules state that although employees are allowed to request to work beyond 65, this has to be by mutual agreement and any refusal does not need to be justified by an employer, which is Heydays contention. This could lead to an increase in potential tribunals if employee and employer cannot agree a mutually beneficial retirement date.

Of course, it is a long time before many people reach their own pensionable age and legislation is not just about the more mature members of our workforce. The new rules are there to protect everyone no matter their age and there are several key areas in the regulations that will be addressed. One of which is the recruitment process.

Any discrimination when recruiting is unacceptable but organisations need to make sure they understand the new rules when starting their processes, especially when writing adverts. Words such as ‘dynamic’ could be deemed, if not quite discriminatory, inappropriate.

Best practice will need to be given paramount importance. HR departments and recruitment consultancies alike need to also handle their rejection procedures with particular care to minimise the risk of legal implications. A recent report by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) suggested that four out of five organisations are expecting difficulties when recruiting new staff.

Retaining (promotion and development) and training will also be affected by the new rules with an outright ban on any discrimination that takes place during processes and procedures.

The new legislation will also mean that employees will be allowed to claim unfair dismissal on the grounds of age bias. There is a risk that claimants could increase to up to and around 10%, which will be very costly for many organisations.

There is, of course, office banter but employees will now need to watch their language when speaking in their workplace. Tagging someone as a ‘youngster’ could be discriminatory and be grounds for disciplinary action.

Many organisations are embracing age diverse practices and procedures in preparation for the reform on the 1 October 2006, which is good news for business. The legislation will mean that organisations can now tap into a wealth of unused talent and really add some value.