Age Discrimination Demands People Policy Overhaul

New age discrimination legislation comes in to force in the UK on October 1 and it will need a complete overhaul of personnel policies according to the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF).

New age discrimination legislation comes in to force in the UK on October 1 and it will need a complete overhaul of personnel policies according to the British Printing Industries Federation (BPIF).

From October 1, individuals above the age of 65 will be able to claim unfair dismissal and it will be very difficult to justify a retirement age of less than 65 years-old, added the BPIF.

Under the new laws, employers will need to follow a particular process in order to retire an employee.

The process will start with a letter to the employee at least six months before the intended retirement date and the employee may ask the employer to consider allowing him to stay on and the employer must hold a consultation meeting with him.

In addition, employees will be able to bring claims of discrimination in all areas of employment, including recruitment, benefits, pension provision, promotion, training and dismissal.

And according to the BPIF's head of legal services, Anne Copley: "This is not just a matter of older employees - discrimination of any age group will be caught by the regulations.

Copley added: "This is probably the biggest thing in employment law in the last 10 years.

It will need a complete overhaul of all personnel policies, including health insurance and retirement ages.

A good place to start is for members to make use of the guidance and precedent documents on the BPIF website, but they will also need to take bespoke professional advice as soon as possible.

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