04 April 2008
Ageism still endemic
Despite the introduction of new age discrimination laws over a year ago, the results of a recent poll by The Employers Forum on Age (EFA) suggest that ageism in the workplace is still rife.
The new rules relate to recruitment, promotion, retirement, pay, promotion, redundancy and pension provision but there are problems...
Employees can work past the age of 65, but only if their employer grants permission to do so. If employers refuse consent, the refusal must be based on ‘objectively justified’ reasons – which can lead to disputes.
If your company has a compulsory retirement age, this may be something that will need to be reviewed in the future, as the EFA is calling on employers to remove mandatory retirement ages.
On the other side of the coin, the EFA also found that young workers are also affected because older workers were being paid more than them for doing the same job.
Elsewhere, the British Youth Council also contends new ageism laws are being broken by the three-tier minimum wage system.
For further information please contact Gerard Gibbs on
01483 887766.