Employees failing to take full advantage of age laws

Commenting on Acas's Annual Report published today, Chris Ball, Chief Executive of TAEN - The Age and Employment Network says:

Workers are proving slow to take advantage of their relatively new rights not to be treated less fairly at work on the basis of age, despite age discrimination being the most common form of workplace discrimination that an individual is likely to encounter.

With just 2,652 cases claiming age discrimination referred to Acas in 2007/08* and only 120 reaching Employment Tribunal hearings, it is clear that the fears stirred up about a deluge of cases, accompanied by large payouts simply has not happened.

In looking for reasons behind this, perhaps it is because individuals are still poorly informed about what their new rights mean and how to enforce them. It also could be because in recruitment processes and workplace settings, ageist attitudes and their acceptance are hard to shift. The major factor, though, could be because most individuals are less able to absorb the financial strains of pursuing a case than their employers.

Mick Jagger's 65th birthday at the weekend should not blind us to the fact that when it comes to fighting age discrimination and being able to work on - many less fortunate older workers 'can't get no (legal) satisfaction!'