A recent report by Legal and General Retail Retirement (LGRR) and the Centre for Economics and Business Research (Cebr) found that over 50% of those aged over 50 believed that their age had affected their chances of securing employment. Those surveyed cited perceptions including that they were too close to retirement, overqualified or more expensive to employ as the reasons why they were not successful in securing a post.
The Government scrapped the default retirement age in 2011. This means that people will have a choice when to retire. But sometimes there is not a choice. Depending on people’s financial situation, working for longer is a necessity. Some people might also want to continue working for social reasons and to give them purpose. But when they are prevented from securing a position because of their age this is discrimination.
Under the Equality Act 2010 (EqA) it is unlawful for a prospective employer to: 1) treat an applicant less favorably because of their age (without an objective justification); 2) apply a provision, criterion or practice that disadvantages applicants of a particular age (without justification); 3) harass an applicant because of their age; or 4) victimise an applicant because they have or intend to make a complaint in connection with the EqA.
The report concerned over 50s however age discrimination can apply equally to younger applicants with perceptions such as the person is too young for the job coming into play.
You can find some useful information on our website if you are experiencing age discrimination at work or you can call and speak to one of our specialist team if you need further assistance.
This blog was written by Jo Sinclair, Solicitor – didlaw
