Act now on age discrimination legislation or pay later says Peopleclick

With enforcement of new age discrimination regulations set for October 1, 2006, following consultation by the Department of Trade and Industry (DTI), the pressure is now very firmly on UK employers to reassess any and all employment practices impacted by the legislation. Larry Cucchi, UK and EMEA Managing Director at Peopleclick, fears that employers are underestimating the far-reaching implications of the regulation and run the risk of legal problems in the future if they donít reassess their age policies across the organisation.



Under the new regulations, in accordance with requirements of the Employment Union Directive, any age discrimination in employment and vocational training is prohibited. The regulations cover both direct discrimination (when an employer overtly includes age as a factor in employment decisions) and indirect discrimination (when a seemingly age-neutral employment practice negatively impacts persons of a particular age group). For example, a post requiring 10 years of experience could eliminate younger candidates.

Cucchi believes that given the extent of the impact of the legislation, UK companies could benefit from looking at experience in the US where workers have been protected against age discrimination since the enactment of the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA) in 1967. Many US employers now hire legal and statistical experts to audit their employment practices for evidence of age discrimination and Cucchi urges UK companies to follow suit to avoid significant risk to the business.

It is vital that companies reassess their approach to age discrimination to ensure that benefits, for example, are service related, not age related. Indirect discrimination in particular is a potential minefield, particularly as this is new territory for most UK businesses. The necessary changes across the organisation need to include reviews of policies, procedures and personnel records for direct age discrimination as well as statistical analysis of personnel databases for evidence of indirect age discrimination. Proactively identifying potential legal vulnerabilities and re-examining past employment and termination decisions could help companies re-evaluate their future processes and reduce risk to the business.