The Government Equalities Office has launched a consultation on banning age discrimination in accessing goods and services.
The measures are included in the Equality Bill and cover how the legislation will enable things that are beneficial to continue such as age-based holidays and discounts for pensioners.
Of course, age discrimination is already outlawed in the workplace as a result of regulations introduced in 2006. Or is it?
The default retirement age - included as part of these regulations - allows employers to compulsorily retire workers at age 65 without giving a reason. If that's not age discrimination then what is?
Now the influential Work and Pensions Select Committee looks set to
renew its call for the retirement age to be scrapped. My colleague
Susie Monro on XpertHR's Employment Intelligence blog has more details.
On 16 July the controversial Heyday case against the default retirement age begins at the High Court, so expect to see a lot more coverage on Personneltoday.com and XpertHR about the case and its implications.
Personnel Today is supporting a campaign to force the government to scrap the DRA. You can sign our petition on the Number 10 website.
On 16 July the controversial Heyday case against the default retirement age begins at the High Court, so expect to see a lot more coverage on Personneltoday.com and XpertHR about the case and its implications.
Personnel Today is supporting a campaign to force the government to scrap the DRA. You can sign our petition on the Number 10 website.
Comments (2)
Sorry to disagree with the majority but we need a retirement age even if it's 85 rather than 65. Not having one means working life now ends with a conversation about not being up to the job, to bring about a resignation/ dismissal. There is nothing wrong with a dignified retirement point, it's just that 65 is not the right age anymore. Eventually we will all start to fail physically and mentally through old age and employers must have mechanisms to cope with that. What's the alternative, we all die at our desks claiming age and disability discrimination? Everyone loves to say retirement equals age discrimination, which is PC nonsense. We need an orderly way to cope with people coming to the end of their working lives in a civilised society. If we changed the mandatory retirement age to 85, could anyone really argue thats unreasonable? Of course not. So we need a retirement age, we just need it to be an age that meets widespread approval.
Posted by Vance Kearney | July 8, 2009 10:56 AM
Posted on July 8, 2009 10:56
Yes, I agree. Scrap retirement age - but it should be a Europe wide law. I have been "sore" for 3 years about losing a modest university teaching job in Italy - especially as I see less experienced teachers doing the job less competently and devotedly as I did!
Posted by Richard Walmsley | July 19, 2009 6:59 AM
Posted on July 19, 2009 06:59