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.