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Age to Z - an age-awareness glossary

A B C D E F G H I J K L M N O P Q R S T U V W X Y Z

A

Acas

Acas is the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service. Acas is nominated by the government to provide advice on age issues. To contact their helpline call 08457 47 47 47 or visit www.acas.org.uk

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B

Benefits

Benefits based on a length of service requirement of 5 years or less, the '5 year exemption', will be exempted and will be able to continue. Employers may continue using length of service criteria to reward staff, as long as the period of service is not more than five years. However, employers can use length of service criteria that exceeds five years if they can justify their actions. After the 5-year exemption, employers must show that there will be an advantage from rewarding loyalty, encouraging the motivation or recognising the experience of workers by awarding benefits on the basis of length of service. Service-Related Benefits factsheet (PDF - 16KB)

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D

Default retirement age

From 1 October 2006, the age of 65 will be a national default retirement age. This does not mean employees have to stay in work until 65. It means employers will no longer be allowed to force someone to retire before then - unless objectively justified where there is a genuine occupational requirement. Employees will also have the right to request to work beyond 65 or any other retirement age set by the organisation. Employers will have a duty to consider such requests.

Direct discrimination

Direct discrimination is less favourable treatment because of someone’s age. For example it will be unlawful on the grounds of age to:

• decide not to employ someone
• dismiss them
• refuse to provide them with training
• deny them promotion
• give them adverse terms and conditions
• retire an employee before the employer’s usual retirement age (if there is one) or retire an employee before the default retirement age of 65 without an Objective Justification.

Example: Whilst being interviewed, a job applicant says that she took her professional qualification 30 years ago. Although she has all the skills and competences required of the job holder, the organisation decides not to offer her the job because of her age. This is direct discrimination.

Note: A job applicant can make a claim to an employment tribunal; it is not necessary for them to have been employed by the organisation to make a claim of discrimination.

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E

Experience

Avoid specifying a minimum length of experience such as 10 years, as this disadvantages younger workers. The quality and relevance of experience is important - not the number of years. Instead of attaching years, describe what the experience should cover and to what standard.

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F

Flexible retirement

Flexible retirement can be a useful way of preparing employees to handle the change between full-time work and full retirement. There are alternatives to stopping work altogether – for example reduced hours, job-sharing, part-time working. See if employees who have retired are seeking employment again. This could involve short-term contracts, re-employment as an advisor, temporary cover during holidays, sickness absence or busy periods. Being flexible about retirement can mean reducing capacity without losing valuable workers and their expertise.

Frequently asked questions

Do the regulations only cover older employees ? Can I ask for a candidate’s date of birth on the application form ? Am I responsible for what an employment agency does ? Do I have to do anything new or different when the legislation comes in ? More questions - and answers

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G

Genuine occupational requirement

In very limited circumstances, it will be lawful for an employer to treat people differently if it is a genuine occupational requirement that the job holder must be of a particular age. When deciding if this applies, it is necessary to consider the nature of the work and the context in which it is carried out. For example, the role of a character in a play or film, or the serving of alcohol.

Graduates

If you ask for graduates, remember that the term can be interpreted as code for someone in their early twenties. Graduates can be almost any age. Make it clear that you are interested in the qualification and not the age of the applicant. If you have special recruitment programmes for graduates or managers, make them open to all ages.

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H

Harassment

Harassment includes behaviour that is offensive, frightening or in any way distressing. It may be intentional bullying which is obvious or violent, but it can also be unintentional, subtle and insidious. It may involve nicknames, teasing, name calling or other behaviour which is not with malicious intent but which is upsetting. Example: A young employee is continually told he is ‘wet behind the ears’ and ‘straight out of the pram’ which he finds humiliating and distressing. This is harassment.

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I

Indirect discrimination

Indirect discrimination means selection criteria, policies, benefits, employment rules or any other practices which, although they are applied to all employees, have the effect of disadvantaging people of a particular age unless the practice can be justified. Indirect discrimination is unlawful whether it is intentional or not.

Individual learning styles

A worker who has been away from formal learning for a few years might take a bit longer to adjust to training and may need some reassurance. Someone used to a formal learning environment might take a bit longer to adjust to on-the-job training. Ask employees who have benefited from training to be role models to inspire others.

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L

Legitimate aim

Discrimination may be justified if it is a Proportionate Means of achieving a legitimate aim. A legitimate aim might include:

• economic factors such as business needs and efficiency
• the health, welfare and safety of the individual (including protection of young people or older workers)
• the particular training requirements of the job.

A legitimate aim must correspond with a real need of the employer – economic efficiency may be a real aim but saving money because discrimination is cheaper than non-discrimination is not legitimate. The legitimate aim cannot be related to age discrimination itself.

Long service and loyalty payments

Any benefit earned by five years service or less will be exempt. Employers may use pay scales that reflect growing experience or limit the provision of non-pay benefits to those who have served a qualifying period, subject to the five-year limit. The use of length of service of more than five years is lawful if it reflects a higher level of experience of the employee, rewards loyalty, or increases or maintains the motivation of the employee; the employer has reasonable grounds for concluding that this fulfils a business need. In order to meet these requirements employers would need evidence of the benefits to the organisation; this could include information the employer might have gathered through monitoring, staff attitude surveys or focus groups for example.

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N

National Minimum wage

Nothing in the regulations will alter the provisions of the National Minimum Wage. The exemption linked to the National Minimum Wage will allow employers using exactly the same age bands (16 and 17, 18 to 21 and 22 and over) to pay at or above the national minimum rates provided those in the lower age group(s) are paid less than the adult minimum wage.

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O

Objective justification

You may treat people differently on the grounds of their age if you have an objective justification. An objective justification allows employers to set requirements that are directly age discriminatory. Remember that different treatment on grounds of age will only be possible exceptionally for good reasons. You will need to provide real evidence to support any claim of objective justification. Assertion alone will not be sufficient and each case must be considered on its individual merits. Both direct and indirect discrimination will be justified if it is a Proportionate Means of achieving a Legitimate Aim. The test of objective justification is not an easy one and it will be necessary to provide evidence if challenged; assertions alone will not be enough.

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P

Pensions

The new age discrimination laws aim to disrupt occupational pension arrangements as little as possible. They do not apply to state pensions, which will be completely unaffected.

Occupational Pensions factsheet (PDF - 18KB)

Positive action

You can take positive action to prevent or compensate for disadvantages linked to age. Positive action is encouraging people from an under-represented group to apply for jobs, training or promotion. For example, you might place some advertisements where they are more likely to be seen by people in a particular age group. Positive action on age can help you to attract people from all age groups in your local community.

Example: Green and Co, a transport company, see from their internal monitoring processes that the company has a mature age profile with disproportionately few workers under 40.

Not wanting to miss out on the talents of all the local community, they include a statement in their next adverts saying

We welcome applications from everyone irrespective of age but, as we are under-represented by people under 40, would especially welcome applications from these jobseekers. Appointment will be on merit alone.

Proportionate means

Discrimination may be justified if it is a proportionate means of achieving a Legitimate Aim. This means:

• what you are doing must actually contribute to a legitimate aim, eg if your aim is to encourage loyalty then you ought to have evidence that the provision or criterion you introduce is actually doing so
• the discriminatory effect should be significantly outweighed by the importance and benefits of the legitimate aim
• you should have no reasonable alternative to the action you are taking. If the legitimate aim can be achieved by less or nondiscriminatory means then these must take precedence.

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Q

Questionnaire for complaints

An individual will be entitled to write to their employer if they feel discriminated against. While this can be done by letter, the use of the questionnaire can help ensure relevant questions are asked. This questionnaire is for the person with the complaint to send questions to their employer. The document also includes the reply form where the employer can say whether they agree with the complainant or not, and set out the reasons why. Questionnaire for complaints (PDF - 160KB)

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R

Right to request

You should notify the employee in writing of their right to request to go on working beyond their retirement date (at least six months in advance but no more than 12 months before the intended date).

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S

State Pension deferral

This means taking up your State Pension later. When you reach State Pension age you don't have to claim your State Pension straight away. You may not need the income from your State Pension immediately because, for example, you intend to carry on working. State Pension deferral simply means putting off claiming your State Pension when you reach State Pension age, or choosing to stop claiming it after you have already claimed it. This allows you to build up extra income or a taxable lump-sum payment. You can claim State Pension while you carry on working. Your earnings will not affect the amount of State Pension you get but, as State Pension counts as income for tax purposes, claiming State Pension may affect the amount of tax you have to pay. State Pension deferral

Stereotypes

Avoid stereotyping. For example, which vacancy is asking for an older person and which a younger person?

Example 1: ‘We require an enthusiastic person, flexible enough to fit in with our fast moving market place, not afraid of challenging the status quo and in touch with latest thinking’.

Example 2: ‘Our ideal candidate will need to manage competing demands. He or she should be reflective, and have boardroom presence and gravitas’.

Instead, aim for the best person regardless of age and be clear about what skills you actually need for the post.

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T

Transitional arrangements

Transitional arrangements will apply to retirements from 1 October 2006 to 31 March 2007. Procedures are in place for ensuring retirement dismissals are fair for employees who are due to retire on or after 1 October 2006, when the new laws come into force. The procedures will also protect employers from unnecessary or unfair dismissal claims. Transitional Arrangements For Retirement (PDF - 27KB)

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V

Vocational training

As well as training provided by employers for their own employees, the regulations also cover organisations providing vocational education and training to the wider community. For the purpose of anti-discrimination law, all forms of vocational training including general educational provision at further, higher and other adult education institutions will be covered. Training providers will not be able to set age limits for entry to training, unless they can prove there is a real need to apply limits. Vocational Training factsheet (PDF - 26KB)

Related information

Age legislation - information for employers and individuals

Date: 14 Sep 06

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