Age Discrimination and Pensions

Since 1st October, age discrimination has been prohibited. Employers are allowed to require employees to cease work on their 65th birthday but only if a special new procedure is followed first. Following on from this regulation (which will improve the pensions aspects of age discrimination) laws have been laid before Parliament. Andrew Bryan, partner, says:

Since 1st October, age discrimination has been prohibited. Employers are allowed to require employees to cease work on their 65th birthday but only if a special new procedure is followed first. Following on from this regulation (which will improve the pensions aspects of age discrimination) laws have been laid before Parliament.

Andrew Bryan, partner, says:

“Pensions clearly depend on age and often do contain age discriminatory aspects. The pensions aspects of the general age discrimination legislation was postponed by 2 months to enable employers and pension schemes to adjust to the new rules. The new rules contain exemptions from the discrimination legislation for pension schemes but will need to be closely scrutinized by those involved in this area.

If you need any advice on this area let us know. This month, the High Court begins hearing a claim regarding UK age discrimination legislation in a test case brought by Heyday which is backed by Age Concern. A similar case has just gone to the European Court of Justice relating to Spanish laws which could have an impact on the Heyday case. Heyday said "People want the choice to continue to work but they don't want to feel they are being given their P45 on the basis of their birth certificate". The government has said it will review the decision to allow a statutory retirement age in 2011.

Call Andrew Bryan on 023 9221 0170 for further information.

Long Service and Employment

May you pay your employee more because they have more years’ experience? This is the issue many employers are wrestling with since 1st October when the age discrimination legislation came into force. In October, the European Court of Justice, in a landmark case, held that this is lawful unless an employee can bring evidence to raise serious doubts that the longer service person does not perform their duties better because of the extra experience acquired.

“Bernadette Cadman was a health inspector. She sued the Health and Safety Executive in 2001 when she found her pay was up to £9,000 pounds a year less than male colleagues in the same post. She said her employer unjustifiably paid male staff at the same grade more only because they had worked more years, and that length of service often depended on domestic circumstances such as pregnancy and maternal leave. The employment tribunal will now have to decide in her case whether the less service she served did in fact make her less able to perform her duties.

In some jobs, after a few years people do not necessarily become better at the work and therefore paying them more salary than those with fewer years of service could be unlawful and in some cases sex discriminatory. Some women (and some men) take time off for several stints of maternity leave and if this means she (or he) has fewer years of service, and this matters to competence in that job, then the parent could be paid less than a similar parent who chose to work during the early years of their children’s childhood.

Contact us if you need any advice on issues of long service, sex discrimination and your pay structures for particular levels of employees.

Call Andrew Bryan on 02392 210 170.