Age legislation: are you ready?
contractjournal.com newsletter feature: 29 June 2006
Age legislation: are you ready?
Age Discrimination Regulations come into force on 1 October 2006. Is your business ready?
Employers who fail to get ready for the new age legislation coming into force on 1 October could be putting themselves at risk of costly claims, according to the Employers Forum on Age. In 2007 alone, failing to meet the new requirements could cost UK businesses £193 million. So, is your business ready?
The Age Discrimination Regulations
The regulations are intended to end ageism in the workplace – currently the most prevalent form of workplace discrimination. Practices that the new legislation will prevent include the use of age-related terms in job advertisements, neglecting older employees when offering training opportunities, and overlooking younger candidates for promotion on the assumption that they are too immature for the job.
In detail, the Age Discrimination Regulations will:
- outlaw discrimination in the workplace on grounds of age;
- introduce a national retirement age of 65;
- outlaw compulsory retirement below that age;
- give employees the right to ask to work beyond 65 (or the company’s normal retirement age if it is higher);
- end the upper age limits for unfair dismissal and redundancy.
How age diversity benefits business
The Age Partnership Group (APG) canvassed employers’ opinions on the regulations and found that around 41% of the construction companies they contacted believed the new legislation would help to improve staff retention.
Businesses certainly stand to benefit from making their workplaces increasingly age diverse, as Scottish construction company Kirkwood, whose employees are pictured, has found.
As well as avoiding the risk of a costly tribunal, good age positive employment practices can help companies to improve the effectiveness of their workforces, through achieving a balance of youth and experience. For example, mentoring programmes can help new recruits to learn from more experienced employees. In an industry where skills shortages are such a problem, it certainly doesn’t make sense to view workers of 50+ as ‘past it’ when their knowledge is so valuable.
Gareth Morgan, Director of National Federation of Builders Cymru backs this point: “The construction industry with its huge skills shortage cannot afford to discriminate against potential job applicants because of their age. Businesses need to act now.”
Taking action on age diversity
Reviewing your approach to age diversity also makes sound business sense to Gerry Lean, Director of Industrial Relations at the Construction Confederation. He said: “Forthcoming legislation has put a welcome spotlight on how employers in our industry recruit staff and retain the knowledge and expertise of some of their older workers.”
So, what action should you take?
The key advice is to make sure that you are prepared:
- Check your current awareness of the problem of ageism.
- Review your employment policies and practices.
- Pay particular attention to recruitment, selection, training, redundancy and retirement.
- Seek external help to ensure that you are compliant.
Resources to help you make your business age positive
On the subject of further help, Lean says: “The good news for the construction sector is that information on age legislation and age diversity practices is free and readily available.”
Lean recommends resources from the Age Partnership Group (APG). Further information can also be found on the government’s Age Positive website.
Age Partnership Group:
Employers can request free information direct from the APG by calling the free order line on 0845 715 20000 or emailing apg@trgeuropeplc.com or visiting www.agepositive.gov.uk/agepartnershipgroup
Age Positive:
Information on age diversity can be found at www.agepositive.gov.uk