Date 2 October 2006

If you have yet to take a good look at your employment practices in light of the new rules on age discrimination, then now is most definitely the time to do so. As of yesterday (1st October), the Government’s most radical shake-up of employment legislation came into force to define and countermeasure age discrimination in the workplace.

The Age Discrimination Regulations affect the employment practices of all organisations – from recruitment through to retirement. For instance, asking for a date of birth on an employee application form could now count towards an accusation of discrimination (indicates age might be a consideration for a particular role). As could the use of words like ‘energetic’ or ‘mature’ in job advertisements. And potentially most concerning of all, employers found to be in breach will be hit by the Government’s new unlimited compensation award.

For more information on the effects of the new Age Discrimination Regulations, visit our more in depth article. Alternatively, if you are concerned that your business might be open to accusations of age discrimination, we are currently offering our popular employment ‘health check’ at just £100 plus VAT. This takes the form of a meeting at your office where we review your employment practices and hunt down the danger areas. We then report back with any areas that could potentially be in breach and tell you how to bring them in line with the new legislation. For more information on the health check, click here.

If you have any queries on this issue or would like to book a health check, please contact Chris Cook on 01727 798000 or at chris.cook@salaw.com.

© SA Law LLP 2006
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