Age Discrimination

Discrimination on the grounds of age is divided into direct discrimination, including victimisation and harassment and indirect discrimination.

What is Age Discrimination?

Age discrimination involves treating an individual unfairly due to their age. Under the Equality Act 2010, this type of discrimination is unlawful, and it applies to all aspects of employment, including hiring, training, promotion, and dismissal. Importantly, age discrimination can affect individuals of all ages, not just older employees.

Types of Age Discrimination

Direct Discrimination occurs when an individual is treated less favourably than another person in a similar situation because of their age. For example, refusing to promote someone because they are considered “too young” or “too old” is direct discrimination.

Indirect Discrimination occurs when a workplace policy, practice, or criterion is applied universally but disadvantages people of a certain age group. For instance, a requirement that all employees must work late shifts may disproportionately affect older workers who might find it more challenging due to health or personal reasons.

Harassment involves unwanted behaviour related to a person’s age that violates their dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating, or offensive environment. This could include making derogatory comments about someone’s age or repeatedly mocking their perceived lack of technological skills.

Victimisation occurs when someone is treated unfairly because they have made or supported a complaint about age discrimination. For example, if an employee raises concerns about ageist behaviour and is then demoted or excluded from meetings, this could constitute victimisation.

How We Can Help?

At Dutton Gregory, we offer a full range of legal services to help employers manage age discrimination issues effectively.

Policy Audits and Development

We can review your existing policies to identify potential risks of age discrimination and help you develop or update policies that promote equality and comply with current legislation.

Risk Management

We can work with you to assess the potential risks of age discrimination within your organisation and recommend proactive measures to address these risks, reducing the likelihood of costly legal disputes.

Defending Age Discrimination Claims

If your organisation faces an age discrimination claim, our skilled solicitors can provide expert legal representation, developing a robust defence strategy to protect your interests. We have a proven track record of successfully defending employers in complex discrimination cases.

Bespoke Training Programmes

We can deliver customised training sessions to educate your HR team, managers, and employees about age discrimination and how to prevent it. This includes guidance on best practices for recruitment, performance management and handling grievances.

What next?

For more information about employment law advice, please contact us at contact@duttongregory.co.uk or contact Darren Tibble as head of our employment team.