Age Discrimination in Employment

The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, which come into force in October 2006, are seen by many as one of the most significant pieces of reform to employment law in decades. The new Regulations, which seek to implement the EU Framework Directive on Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation, will make discrimination on the grounds of age unlawful in employment and vocational education. Employers will not be allowed to use age as a criterion for recruitment, promotion, and termination, and the Regulations will apply to people at work (including the self-employed and contract workers); those applying for work, in some cases those who have recently left work; and people undertaking or applying for employment-related vocational training. In addition, compulsory contractual retirement is to be permitted for the time being, but only under certain circumstances. As a result of these changes, employers will need to revisit their policies, training, and procedures to ensure that they comply with the new regime. Most aspects of the employment relationship will be covered including selection and redundancy, pay and benefits, and flexible working policies.
Significant practical changes that are currently expected include having to set up new processes for planned retirement, and ensuring that recruitment advertisements do not include age limits and reach a sufficiently wide range of age groups and audiences. Practitioners will need to be fully conversant with the Regulations, and their practical implications, from the outset. The Regulations are certain to be contentious, with issues such as insured benefits and redundancy compensation looking particularly controversial, and there are a number of exceptions to the Regulations, which are likely to lead to litigation in trying to establish their scope and precise meaning. This new book combines commentary and discussion on the main themes underlying the new regime with practical guidance on the key implications for the employment lawyer in practice. It looks at issues around the meaning of age discrimination, and examines the Government's policies and approaches, including a detailed analysis of the Regulations themselves.
The text also considers the Framework Directive, and provides a short comparative study of experiences in other jurisdictions that have already implemented age discrimination legislation. The book will be published shortly after the Regulations take effect, which will ensure that practitioners, academics and students of employment law, and other affected bodies, are best equipped to understand these substantial changes from the earliest opportunity.