IT firms ignorant of UK ageism clampdown

New 'ageism' regulations are the single most important development in discrimination law in the past 30 years

An "alarming" number of IT companies are struggling to understand new age discrimination legislation which came into force in the UK yesterday.

Employment lawyers at Pinsent Masons warned that, although most poll respondents were aware of the impending legislation, an "alarming number of technology businesses have not taken the necessary steps to review their policies and procedures".

Ashley Norman, partner and head of equality and diversity at Pinsent Masons, said: "Arguably these regulations are the single most important development in discrimination law in the past 30 years.

"The impression we have been getting from technology companies is that, whilst there is a high level of awareness about the legislation, considerable uncertainty exists about the detail and implications for employers.

"It is essential for employers to identify aspects of their employment policies that might create a compliance risk so that necessary changes can be made in good time.

"We recommend that policy audits are not put off or employers run the risk of encountering claims by employees and job candidates who are willing and able to enforce these new rights and to test the parameters of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006."

According to new research from IT recruitment firm The IT Job Board, 71.9 per cent of UK IT professionals believe that ageism is more prevalent in the technology sector than in other industries.

Over half believe that their search for work has been hindered because they were too old.

Of these, 36.7 per cent said it had taken longer to get a job, 22.8 per cent did not get their preferred position and 5.1 per cent had been forced to take a pay cut.

Some 12.5 per cent of respondents believe that their search for work has been hindered because they were too young.

Of these, 23.1 per cent said it had taken longer to get a job, 41 per cent did not get their preferred position and 12.8 per cent had been forced to take a pay cut.

Despite these concerns, over one third of poll respondents are not aware of the new legislation that now outlaws ageism in the workplace.

Ray Duggins, managing director of The IT Job Board, said: "This is the biggest shake-up in workplace anti-discrimination legislation for over a quarter of a century.

"Despite that, there is clearly a great deal of confusion about what it will entail, and the results of our research are extremely concerning."

The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 will:

• Ban age discrimination in terms of recruitment, promotion, training and provision of benefits
• Ban all retirement ages below 65 except where objectively justified
• Remove the current upper age limit for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights

They will also introduce:

• A duty for employers to consider an employee's request to continue working beyond retirement
• A requirement for employers to give written notification to employees at least six months in advance of their intended retirement date to allow employees to plan for their retirement