The Equality Act 2010 protects individuals from being treated unfairly at work in the form of discrimination. This legislation includes discrimination in nine different forms, such as gender, race, religion and disability, plus age. It is important to note that age discrimination can include being treated unfairly for being too young, but the most common cause of age discrimination is being considered too old.

You can receive compensation if age has been used against you in a work situation and you can show evidence to prove this. Where age is the reason for dismissal then it follows that the dismissal will be unfair.  In most cases age discrimination should, in the first instance, be addressed with an employer through the internal grievance process.

Older employees can be valued for their skills and experience, but negative perceptions such as older employees not fitting in, being less productive, less flexible, less ambitious and in some cases less qualified can be grounds for tribunal complaints.

Common examples of age discrimination

There are many examples of an employee being compulsorily retired due to their age, or being nominated for redundancy due to their age. In a redundancy situation an employer must show that an older person being nominated for retirement or redundancy is after a fair and transparent process which judges everybody in the workforce equally.

It is important to be aware that an employer can defend an age discrimination by showing “objective justification” to promote inter-generational fairness. Examples include promoting access to employment for younger people; the efficient planning of the departure and recruitment of staff; sharing out employment opportunities fairly between the generations and cushioning the blow for long-serving employees who may find it hard to find new employment if dismissed.

Age discrimination usually comes in four different forms:

  • Direct – An employee is denied a promotion they were suitable for because the role was specifically given to a younger person.
  • Indirect – Where an opportunity offered to everyone puts the older employee at a disadvantage or excludes them entirely, for example, a training opportunity is only offered to people who are recent graduates.
  • Harassment – Where jokes or derogatory nicknames are given to an older employee, or they are specifically excluded from social events.
  • Victimisation – Where an older employee is treated differently because they have made a previous complaint about age discrimination.

What should you do if you have experienced age discrimination?

There are several steps you can take if you have experienced age discrimination in the workplace, and which will elevate the gravity of the complaint at each stage, if it remains unresolved. It is important that you take each step at a time, and don’t progress the issue to a later stage without first attempting to resolve the issue in a less formal manner.

  1. The first step is to raise the matter with your direct line manager.
  2. You should collate evidence of your grievance in terms of people, times and locations in order for this to back-up your case.
  3. You can raise the issue as a formal grievance in writing. At this point you should consider instructing an experienced employment law solicitor, if you haven’t already. They will be able to advise you on how you should proceed, what evidence you should have and whether you have a strong enough case. The grievance letter should be presented to your employer.
  4. The grievance process should result in a meeting with your employer where you can discuss your grievance openly. Your employer should be willing to help resolve the issue, but you should have an independent party with you also to ensure impartiality and to witness discussions.
  5. If the issue is still not resolved it may proceed to an employment tribunal or, where this is necessary, an unfair dismissal case.
  6. Having said the above, it is important to appreciate that the time limits are short to bring a claim. Generally the ACAS Early Conciliation process must be started within 3 months less one day of the act or incident complained of, or the last act in a series of acts. Time limits are a complex area in itself so legal advice should always be sought early.

Contact Ison Harrison for employment law support in the event of age discrimination

If you feel that you have been the victim of age discrimination, in any form, you should contact our employment for individuals team at Ison Harrison. We have experienced employment law solicitors with specialist expertise in discrimination cases. We can help identify where you have valid claims for age discrimination and can help you process this claim using the correct formal process, and ensure that you have sufficient evidence to enable a successful conclusion. So contact our team today.

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