Age

This section of the site is about age discrimination and how and where it may affect you.

Unlawful age discrimination happens when someone is treated unfavourably because of their age, without justification, or is harassed or victimised because of their age.

Find out more about your legal rights and what to do if you are being discriminated against on the following pages.

An employer refuses to offer a job to a young candidate, even though the candidate has the skills and competencies required for it. The employer sees the position as one of authority and does not feel the young candidate will be respected or taken seriously because of his age. This is an example of direct discrimination.
An employer insists that all candidates for a job have to meet a physical fitness test (that younger candidates can meet more easily) even though the fitness standard is not required for the job in question. This is indirect discrimination.
An employee has been consistently passed over for promotion, and is not allowed to attend meetings unaccompanied, because she looks young for her age. Her manager, who is 10 years older than her, feels that she is too ‘wet behind the ears’ to be given more responsibility, despite the fact that she has the right qualifications and five years’ experience in her role. This is an example of direct discrimination.
A general work culture appears to tolerate people telling ageist jokes, bullying or name calling. This could count as harassment on the grounds of age. Harassment is a form of direct discrimination.
As one of its requirements, a job advert lists 10 years’ experience in a relevant field, when two or three years’ experience would be adequate for the job. This could be seen as indirect discrimination.

When and where could age discrimination take place?

People can encounter unlawful age discrimination at work and in education and training.

Working and earning

An example of direct age discrimination in employment would be an IT company with a policy of not recruiting older employees because they didn’t fit in with the youthful culture of the company. Age discrimination legislation applies throughout employment: from recruitment advertising to pension rules. However, there are circumstances in which age discrimination is allowed. See the section below on ‘When is age discrimination lawful?’.

Vocational learning and training

The opportunity to learn and receive training should be open to all, and educational providers at institutions of further and higher education are covered by age regulations. An example would be a16 year-old who applies for a vocational training course to enhance her promotion opportunities within her company. She is refused entry to the company’s training scheme on the grounds that she is too young. Under age regulations her employer would not be allowed to prevent her from seeking further training because of her age.

However, it can sometimes be justifiable to adopt an age-specific approach to the delivery of vocational education or training – provided this is a fair means of achieving a genuine aim. An example of this would be an educational institution that increases the participation of a particular age group on a training course to ensure that this section of the population is integrated into the workforce. This is an example of positive action, which is discussed further below.

If you feel you have been treated unfairly because of your age, you can find out more about how to take action from the ‘Using your rights’ section.

When is age discrimination lawful?

In certain circumstances, age discrimination may be lawful, but there must be an ‘objective justification’ in every case.

Objective justification

An objective justification allows an employer to discriminate both directly and indirectly on the basis of age. They must, however, show that this discrimination is ‘proportionate’ and contributes to a ‘legitimate’ aim.

Proportionate means that:

what the employer is doing is actually achieving its aim
the discriminatory effect should be significantly outweighed by the importance and benefits of the legitimate aim
the employer should have no reasonable alternative to the action they are taking. If the legitimate aim can be achieved by another or less discriminatory means, they must then opt for that route. Legitimate means:
economic factors such as the needs of and the efficiency of running a business
the health, welfare and safety of the individual (including protection of young people or older workers)
the particular training requirements of the job.

A legitimate aim must correspond with a legitimate need of the employer. For example, economic efficiency may be a real aim but saving money because discrimination is cheaper than non-discrimination is not a legitimate need. It is not easy to prove objective justification, and employers have to provide valid evidence if they are challenged.

For example, some employers have policies that link pay and benefits to an employee’s length of service, such as additional holiday entitlement for long-serving employees. This may indirectly discriminate against younger people who are less likely to have been employed for that length of time, but in most circumstances it is seen as being a proportionate way of encouraging staff loyalty.

A genuine occupational requirement

In some circumstances, it may be lawful for an employer to treat people differently if there is a ‘genuine occupational requirement’ for a job holder to be of a particular age. For example, a younger actress would be required to play the role of a female teenager in a film.

Positive Action

The term ‘positive action’ refers to legal measures that are designed to counteract the effects of past discrimination and to help abolish stereotyping. Positive action can be taken to encourage people from particular age groups to take advantage of opportunities for training or work experience schemes, or encourage them to apply for particular employment. It can only be done when a particular group has been identified as under-represented in a certain area of employment. Positive action may include things like introducing fair selection procedures, training programmes or targeting job advertisements at a particular group.

Positive action is not the same as positive discrimination, and does not involve treating particular groups more favourably when recruiting. Employers must make sure that employees are hired or promoted on merit alone.

For example, a company with a young workforce which does not typically attract applications from older people could advertise a job vacancy by saying: ‘We would welcome applications from candidates over the age of 45, as this age group is currently under-represented within our establishment. However, the appointment will be made on merit alone.’

There are a few other exemptions:

the national minimum wage is split into three different rates depending on the age of the employee. Therefore it is within the law for employers to pay their employees minimum wages of different rates according to their age.
employment can depend on age if this is required by existing law. For example, the position of a bar tender serving alcohol at a club can only be filled by someone who is over 18 years of age, to comply with licensing requirements.
volunteers generally don’t have protection from discrimination, unless their unpaid work is part of a training course or they are government-appointed office holders (like magistrates, for example).
age discrimination legislation does not cover the provision of goods and services, which means that it is lawful for insurance companies and healthcare providers, for example, to discriminate on the grounds of age.

What does the law say?

Legislation relating to age discrimination includes the following:

The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006: Legislation effective from October 2006 means that employers can no longer discriminate against employees on grounds of age.

Age

On this page

Does age discrimination apply to me?

What is age discrimination?