Areas covered and explained
Age Discrimination
The Equal Treatment Framework Directive (2000/78/EC) prohibits (after commencement) unjustified age discrimination in employment and vocational training. The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 (which will not affect the age at which people can claim their state pension) will:
- apply to employment and vocational training
- prohibit unjustified direct and indirect age discrimination, and all harassment and victimisation on grounds of age, of people of any age, young or old
- ban age discrimination in terms of recruitment, promotion and training
- introduce a default retirement age of 65 and require that retirement ages below this be objectively justified
- remove the current age limit (65) for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights
- introduce a right for employees to request working beyond retirement age and a duty on employers to consider that request
- introduce a requirement for employers to give at least six month's notice to employees about their intended retirement date so that individuals can plan better for retirement
- allow pay and non-pay benefits to continue which depend on length of service requirements of five years or less or which recognise and reward loyalty and experience and motivate staff
- remove the age limits for statutory sick pay, statutory maternity pay, statutory adoption pay and statutory paternity pay
- remove the lower and upper age limits in the statutory redundancy scheme, but leave the current age-banded system in place
- provide exemptions for many age-based rules in occupational pension schemes (they are contained in Sch.2 to the Regulations)
