HMRC have published some guidance on age discrimination. HMRC’s 10 key points about age legislation and retirement are reproduced below. At the bottom of the article is the link to Employers’ Bulletin 23. The key points are:
- Age regulations are due to come into force 1 October 2006.
- The regulations cover employment and vocational training. This includes access to help and guidance, recruitment, promotion, development, termination, perks and pay.
- The regulations cover people of all ages, both young and old.
- All employers, providers of vocational training, trade unions, professional associations, employer organisations and trustees, and managers of occupational pension schemes will have new obligations to consider.
- Goods, facilities and services are not included in these regulations.
- Upper age limits for unfair dismissal and redundancy will be removed.
- A national default retirement age of 65 will be introduced making compulsory retirement below age 65 generally unlawful. This will be reviewed in 2011.
- All employees will have the ‘right to request’ to work beyond the default retirement age of 65 or any other retirement age set by the company and all employers will have a ‘duty to consider’ these requests.
- Occupational pensions are covered by the regulations, as are employer contributions to personal pensions. However, the regulations generally allow pension schemes to work as they do now.
- The regulations do not affect state pensions.
Internet link: HMRC Employers' Bulletin 23 |
