Ageism is the UK’s Most Common Form of Discrimination at Work
Ageism has repeatedly been found to be the leading form of discrimination in the workplace, affecting both job applicants and workers. Individuals are protected by law against discrimination on the grounds of their age. With the proportion of mature workers… Read on
What are the legal requirements for equality and diversity in the workplace?
Most people have heard of equality and diversity but, what does this actually mean? Where did the phrase come from and what are employers’ legal obligations when it comes to ensuring equality and diversity in the workplace? Definition of equality… Read on
Ageism in the workplace
In July 2018, a parliamentary committee published a report on its inquiry into older workers. The committee concluded that the government was not enforcing age discrimination law adequately and that workplace prejudice, unconscious bias and casual ageism are still… Read on
What are protected characteristics?
The term “protected characteristics” comes from the Equality Act 2010. Understanding what the protected characteristics are is important because any discriminatory or harassing behaviour is only unlawful if it is related to a relevant protected characteristic. The definition of protected… Read on
Compensation for discrimination goes up: new Vento guidelines published
From 6 April 2019, the compensation which successful claimants can recover for injury to feelings in discrimination cases will increase as the “Vento guidelines” – which employment tribunals follow when deciding how much to award for injury to feelings –… Read on
Can employers still set a retirement age?
One of our partners, Katy Meves, was recently asked to answer this questions for the member publication for ICAEW chartered accountants, Economia. But, whether an employer can set a retirement age for its staff and essentially force people to retire… Read on
Age discrimination: Ben Power published in The Times law pages
Ben Power’s article “Age discrimination is still the same old problem” was published in the prestigious law pages of The Times newspaper on 2 August 2018. Ben’s article discusses the conundrum of balancing equality for older workers against fairness for… Read on
Age discrimination fact sheet
We kick off our series of factsheets with age discrimination. We intend to cover topics which individuals may find of particular interest or, which are universally relevant but tricky to navigate. Our aim is to give basic facts about the… Read on
Discrimination to cost employers more from 6 April as compensation rises
From 6 April 2018, the compensation which successful claimants can recover in discrimination cases will increase as the “Vento guidelines” – which employment tribunals follow when deciding how much to award for injury to feelings – are amended to reflect… Read on
Changes to pension schemes discriminated against younger members
Two recent Employment Appeal Tribunal (EAT) decisions highlight how pension scheme changes can put younger employees at a disadvantage and be discriminatory on the grounds of age. Background When an employer makes changes to employees’ pension benefits it is… Read on