21 June 2006
CBI Deputy Director-General John Cridland has warned that
businesses must get their act together to ensure they are not
caught out by the new age discrimination regulations coming into
effect this autumn.
Speaking to an audience of employers at the CBI's 'Coming of
Age' conference earlier this week, John Cridland warned that the
new age discrimination laws will change widely held practices
relating to age and said it is critical that employers are ready in
good time for 1 October because the law will, for the first time,
protect people against discrimination on the grounds of age on a
wide range of issues.
However, employers should draw comfort from a recent survey
carried out by the CBI and Mercer Human Resource Consulting that
found that three-quarters of firms already offer flexibility around
the date of retirement. The survey found nearly half offer
part-time working after employees' normal retirement date, forty
per cent offer continuing full-time employment at retirement and a
quarter of companies offer project-based or seasonal work to those
beyond normal retirement.
John Cridland said: "We are now living longer, healthier and
more active lives. At a time of increasing skill shortages, we
cannot afford to overlook the talent and experience that exists in
the over fifties. The UK compares well with the rest of Europe on
participation rates for 55 to 64 year-olds but we cannot afford to
be complacent.
"Many firms in the UK have already introduced measures - from
recruitment campaigns to flexible working for older workers - to
promote age diversity. For example, twenty per cent of supermarket
chain Asda's employees are over fifty and of these 500 are over
seventy.
"The new age discrimination regulations drive cultural change
and employers accept that they should only discriminate on ability.
But new laws bring new risks of inadvertent non-compliance, which
is why firms need to start planning now - reviewing their policies
and thinking hard about whether their age-related practices are
justified.
"All aspects of employment practices need to be reviewed - from
more generous sick pay and holiday leave for longer serving staff
as well as special treatment on training or health promotion for
certain categories of employee.
"But these new regulations must not be seen by employees - of
whatever age - as open season to take their employer to a tribunal.
In Ireland, where similar legislation is already in place, a fifth
of all tribunal cases are now in some way age-related."
Speaking at the conference, Jane Amphlett, Partner at legal firm
Addleshaw Goddard said: "These age regulations present an even
bigger challenge for employers than previous gender, race,
disability, sexual orientation and religious discrimination laws.
Employers need to use the time between now and October effectively
and review all employment practices and policies to identify where
changes need to be made and to train their staff effectively. No
employer relishes the prospect of having to defend an expensive
discrimination claim in a tribunal."
John Cridland concluded: "Retirement will remain a vital
management tool to ensure effective succession planning in all
businesses which is why the CBI lobbied hard to retain the right to
retire staff at normal retirement age - typically 65. In the
absence of a retirement norm, employers would have to assess
whether or not an individual remains capable of doing a job. No-one
can have a unilateral right to continue working beyond 65, but
employers want to retain the skills and knowledge of older workers
and we expect employers to grant most requests to continue
working."
