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It might seem extraordinary, but until recently British employers had total freedom to discriminate against their staff on the grounds of age. They could reject a job applicant, or turn them down for promotion simply because they were too old or too young.
The new Employment Equality (Age) Regulations have changed all that. Age discrimination in the workplace – including ageist comments – is now outlawed. And employees will have the right to request to continue working after 65 (though employers don’t have to agree to it).
The new rules are welcome and indeed long overdue, coming as they do four decades after the race equality laws.
Unfortunately, employers aren’t celebrating as these new rules are set to tie them up in knots. Firms won’t be able to advertise for a "young, dynamic employee", "a recent graduate", or a "mature candidate". Keeping the elderly in work longer will merely encourage them to cling to jobs that the young would otherwise have. And if businesses do try to cut away the dead wood, lawyers will be the main beneficiaries.
The US saw a 40% increase in employment cases when it’s Age Discrimination Act was introduced, and our Parliament hasn’t even voted on these constricting regulations. They are – as you may have guessed – the result of a diktat from the European Commission.
We heard exactly the same sort of whingeing when the Sex Discrimination and Race Relations Acts were introduced, but this is an eminently sensible piece of legislation, giving due scope for what is called objective justification: genuine reasons for needing employees of a certain age. Gyms won’t be forced to recruit doddery old men; and firms looking for experienced executives will be able to turn down callow 18-year-olds.
Doing away with ageism in the workplace is not just morally right, it’s a necessity. Life expectancy is rising and pensions are shrinking. Within 15 years, people over 50 will have to make up one-third of the entire workforce: the health of the economy will rely on convincing older workers that they’re not "passed it".