Funny cards axed from the office?

FUNNY birthday cards could vanish from workplaces as bosses become increasingly fearful of falling foul of new legislation.

Employers face redtape chaos to comply with age discrimination laws due on October 1st 2006.

National law firm Rowe Cohen has highlighted the issue by displaying armfuls of offending cards plucked from the shelves of high street retailers.

Neil Gouldson, head of employment law at Rowe Cohen, said:

Legislation outlawing age discrimination is only 18 months away. It will mean a massive cultural change in many workplaces. No aspect of employment will remain untouched - recruitment, promotion, benefits, redundancy, retirement and dismissals will all be affected.

Smart employers are cleansing their workplaces of ageist practices to make sure they donít face hefty compensation bills in the Employment Tribunal.

The point we are making is that employers will need to take a hard line on ageist banter in the workplace. Gags about being íover the hillí and so on will need to be curbed. Hopefully this has placed the issue of age discrimination firmly in the minds of business owners and they can get their act together before they find themselves in hot water.

Gouldson adds that the problem of companies forcing people to retire at a certain age is also complicated by age discrimination laws:

Age discrimination remains the only type of discrimination covered by the 2000 Equal Treatment Framework Directive which is still lawful in the UK, he said.

Draft age-discrimination regulations were delayed in 2004 because the Government had to tackle the íbattlegroundí issue of whether or not to introduce a default compulsory retirement age.

From October 1st 2006, employers could require employees to retire at 65, subject to employees having the right to írequestí to work beyond 65. Employers must seriously consider these requests and can only refuse it on the basis of a sound business reason.

Direct discrimination will be outlawed and covers situations where any employee is treated less favourably based on actual or íperceivedí age. Indirect discrimination where blanket company policies or usual practice disadvantages people of a certain age will also be outlawed.

Employers must tackle prejudices within the workplace if they are to avoid substantial claims. Rowe Cohen has prepared a quick five-step guide to getting the ball rolling on age discrimination:

1) complete age audits on the workforce

2) rethink the wording used in job adverts to exclude potentially discriminatory content such as íwould suit mature workerí or íopportunity to work in a young dynamic environmentí.

3) review flexible working patterns and access to training.

4) revise pay schemes to ensure that longevity is not a sole criterion of reward

5) take a tougher stance on ageist banter in the workplace e.g. íover the hillí birthday cards and ídadís armyí jokes.