The Age Discrimination regulations give important new rights and responsibilities to every employee and business in Britain.
Trade and Industry Secretary Alistair Darling said: "Discrimination against you just because you're older has no place in a modern society. From today it will be against the law for workers to miss out on recruitment, promotion or training because of prejudice about their age. In just 15 years, the over-50s will make up more than a third of the workforce. Ignoring a whole generation makes no sense. The individual loses, the company loses and the economy loses a wealth of talent and experience. What matters is the person - their skills and abilities, not their age. We are determined to create a world where the best person for the job is just that - the best person. The new laws will help do that."
The regulations (which will not affect the age at which people can claim their state pension) will:
- end age discrimination in terms of recruitment, promotion and training
- ban unjustified retirement ages of below 65
- remove the current age limits for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights
They will also introduce:
- a right for employees to request working beyond retirement age and a duty on employers to consider that request
- a new requirement for employers to give at least six months' notice to employees about their intended retirement date so that individuals can plan better for retirement, and be confident that "retirement" is not being used as cover for unfair dismissal
