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Frequently asked questions - the age regulations and employers
Do the regulations only cover older employees ?
No. The regulations cover workers of all ages – young and old.
Can I ask for a candidate’s date of birth on the application form ?
Yes. But asking for age-related information on an application form could allow discrimination to take place. Remove the date of birth/age from the main application form and include it in a diversity monitoring form to be retained by HR/personnel.
Am I responsible for what an employment agency does ?
Yes. If you use a recruitment agency you need to be sure the agency acts appropriately and in accordance with your company’s equality and diversity policies.
Do I have to do anything new or different when the legislation comes in ?
Yes. Include age in your equality policy. Make sure all employees are aware that it is not only unacceptable to discriminate, harass or victimise someone on the grounds of age, it is also unlawful. Check your policies for retirement and redundancy. Upper age limits on unfair dismissal claims and redundancy payments will be removed. There will be a default retirement age of 65, making compulsory retirement below 65 unlawful unless objectively justified. Give serious consideration to the benefits of flexible working. All employees will also have the right to request to work beyond 65 or any other retirement age set by the organisation. You have a duty to consider such requests.
Must I have an equality policy ?
No. However, an equality policy is the best way of demonstrating that you take discrimination seriously and have steps in place to tackle it. If you would like help putting an equality policy in place Acas can help – call their helpline on 08457 474747.
Do these regulations cover all workers ?
Yes. The regulations apply to all workers, including office holders, police, barristers and partners in a business. They also cover related areas such as membership of trade organisations, the award of qualifications, the services of careers guidance organisations, employment agencies and vocational training providers, including further and higher education institutions. The regulations also cover anyone who applies to an organisation for work, or who already works for an organisation – whether they are directly employed, work under some other kind of contract, or are an agency worker. You will also be responsible for the behaviour of your employees towards an individual working for someone else but on their premises, for example someone from another organization repairing a piece of your equipment.
I am a partner, am I covered by the regulations ?
Yes, you are covered by the regulations except for the provisions covering retirement and the right to request. Partnerships will need to objectively justify their decisions on age issues and for retirement. It would be sensible for partners to have clear records of these decisions at partnership meetings to show they meet business objectives, are properly considered and regularly reviewed. Such records may help support any case for objective justification.
No one in my organisation has ever complained of discrimination or harassment so I don’t need to do anything new, do I ?
People do not always feel able or confident enough to complain, particularly if the harasser is a manager or senior executive. Sometimes they will simply resign. One way to find out is to undertake exit interviews when people leave and to ask them if they have ever felt harassed, bullied or discriminated against in the workplace. If it is possible, exit interviews should be undertaken by someone out of the individual’s line of management, for instance a personnel officer. Make sure all your employees understand that harassment means any unwanted behaviour that makes someone feel intimidated, degraded, humiliated or offended. This includes teasing, tormenting, name calling and gossip and it applies to whoever the perpetrator may be. The victim’s perception of the effect of the behaviour is also important.
Should I take positive action to promote age diversity ?
Your business could benefit from employing people of different ages. The law allows you to introduce positive action measures where you can demonstrate that employees of a particular age are at a career disadvantage or are under represented in the organization.
Related information
Age legislation - information for employers and individuals
Date: 14 Sep 06
Source: Acas
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