The age of change

On 1 October 2006, new regulations came into force to protect employees, job applicants, contract workers and various others from discrimination, harassment and victimisation because of their age. No longer can older workers be thrown on the employment scrapheap, nor will youth alone be a bar to promotion.

The regulations:

• Prohibit direct or indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation of an individual because of their age
• Prevent employers forcing employees to retire before the age of 65
• Provide complicated retirement rules allowing employers to force employees to retire at 65 or over, as long as they follow set procedures.

These new regulations mark a huge shift in the employment relationship and ignoring them would be very costly for employers. Many businesses will need to change the way they think and adopt revised policies and procedures to ensure that age discrimination is seen as unacceptable in their workplaces.

If you want any advice on the new rules, please contact:

Daniel Naftalin
Tel +44 (0)20 7440 7242
daniel.naftalin@mishcon.com