Crashing the age barrier

As many as seven in ten (70%) UK employers say they are unconcerned about the impending changes, which must be implemented by December 2006. But in order to comply with the measures, employers will have to review all of their employment practices for age discrimination, including: recruitment, promotion, retirement, redundancy and their systems for unfair dismissal and performance appraisal.

Currently almost half of employers do not even have a policy in place on age diversity or age discrimination and few monitor promotion and training decisions by age.

The governmentís failure to publish draft Regulations on age legislation this spring, as they originally promised, means that employers are still waiting for a clear lead on the action they will have to take before the legislation comes into effect.

Previously the government had recognised the extent of the policy review that employers will need to conduct and had promised to allow them a two-year preparation period.

EOR writer/researcher Kate Godwin said:

ìWhatever decision is made about a compulsory retirement age, the forthcoming age legislation will mark a fundamental cultural and legislative change. Many employers reported that they were delaying changes because they were waiting to see the detail of the new legislation. The recent delay by the government in publishing draft Regulations has increased employer uncertainty and further shortened what was already a tight timescale.
ìHowever, employers who think that they can continue as before are subject to a misplaced confidence. Although 2006 may seem a long way off, employers need to take action to combat possible future discrimination claims. Employment tribunals often draw adverse inferences from an organisationís general inadequate approach to equal opportunities or lack of transparency in employment decisions. If employers do not adapt their policies, they could be facing costly but avoidable court cases brought forward by disgruntled staff or potential employees. (see notes to editors)

The EOR survey was conducted in April 2004, examining how prepared employers are for the impending legislation.


Other key findings include:

-Seven in ten employers agree that legislation is needed to prevent age discrimination at work.

-Although they agree that age legislation is needed, seven in 10 employers surveyed (74%) do not believe that discrimination occurs in their organisation.

-Only one in four employers have adopted the governmentís Code of Practice on age diversity, which was introduced in 1999.

-Just over half of survey participants (56%) monitor the age profile of their workforce.

-Benefits based on length of service are widespread, necessitating major changes for employers if these are outlawed.

-From October 2006, almost all employers (96%) report that they plan to monitor the age profile of their workforce.

-Fewer employers currently monitor recruitment (29%), though this is reportedly set to rise to just over two-thirds (68%) from October 2006.

-Promotion decisions are monitored by 9% of employers, with a projection of 44% from October 2006. Training is monitored by 11%, and this should rise to 43% from October 2006.

-Just 9% of respondents currently monitor harassment by age. After the introduction of age discrimination legislation less than half of employers (41%) report that they will monitor harassment by age.

-The majority of employers (figure) claim that they do not formally set minimum or maximum age limits on new recruits; 17% operate an upper age limit when recruiting staff. Most organisations cited 64 or 65 as the cut-off point.

EOR (Equal Opportunities Review) is published by LexisNexis. Published monthly and available on subscription, EOR is the only source of information, which brings together law and practice on all strands of discrimination. It provides independent and authoritative explanation and analysis of trends and developments in equal opportunities and diversity.

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