09 June 2006
More than half the UK's large employers expect new anti-age
discrimination laws will help staff retention and improve labour
market choice.
However, the survey, carried out by The Age Partnership Group,
suggests that small employers are a lot less keen on the changes,
with many worried about rising recruitment costs.
Under the new law which will come into force in October, it will
be illegal to force workers to retire before age 65.
The new legislation requires employers to review all their
employment practices to ensure they are based on skills and
competencies, not age.
Alan Tyrrell, Federation of Small Businesses employment affairs
chairman, said that small firms needed to ensure they were "up to
speed" with the changes.
