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Diversity and equality
This factsheet gives introductory guidance. It:
introduces the basics of age discrimination legislation
explains about employment practices which do not discriminate on the grounds of age
sets out recommendations and an action plan for avoiding the use of age and age-related criteria in employment
includes the CIPD viewpoint.

What is age discrimination?
Age discrimination can be explained as occurring when someone treats a person less favourably because of that person’s age, and uses this as a basis for prejudice against and unfair treatment of that person. Age discrimination in employment can:
affect anybody regardless of how old they are
reduce employment prospects for older people, younger people and parents returning to work after a period of full-time childcareprevent the full consideration of abilities, potential and experience of employees.
Our survey Tackling age discrimination at work, carried out before the 2006 legislation came into force, found that age discrimination was a significant problem in the workplace. Fifty-nine per cent of respondents said they had been disadvantaged because of their age.
The 2006/7 statistics from the Employment Tribunal Service show that in the first six months after the 2006 legislation came into force there were only 972 age discrimination claims presented in tribunals. However the number of age discrimination cases is expected be much higher in next year’s figures.
 

The legal position
 The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 came into force in October 2006 to comply with the European Equal Treatment Framework Directive (2000/78/EC). These regulations mean that age discrimination in employment is unlawful in the same way as discrimination on gender, race, disability, sexual orientation or religion and belief. Some countries, for example the USA, have had age discrimination legislation for many years. However the UK legislation protects people of all ages, unlike the law in the USA which only protects those over 40.
Age discrimination can take many forms. In legal terms, it broadly follows the same pattern as existing forms of discrimination law in the UK, namely direct and indirect discrimination, victimisation and harassment, although there are some differences. The regulations have also had a wide impact on other areas of employment law including unfair dismissal and redundancy provisions.
CIPD members can find details of the new regulations and their legal implicatons for employers, in our Age discrimination and retirement FAQ in the Employment Law at Work area of our website. 
 

Some key points: 
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 old and young. 
The regulations do not just apply to all employers, but also to providers of vocational training, trade unions, professional associations, employer organisations and trustees, and managers of occupational pension schemes.
Goods, facilities and services are not included in the regulations, although a group of non-governmental organisations such as Age Concern have been working on propos±¾ÂÛÎÄÓÉÓ¢ÓïÂÛÎÄÍøÌṩÕûÀí£¬ÌṩÂÛÎÄ´úд£¬Ó¢ÓïÂÛÎÄ´úд£¬´úдÂÛÎÄ£¬´úдӢÓïÂÛÎÄ£¬´úдÁôѧÉúÂÛÎÄ£¬´úдӢÎÄÂÛÎÄ£¬ÁôѧÉúÂÛÎÄ´úдÏà¹ØºËÐĹؼü´ÊËÑË÷¡£