Age Discrimination Explained

There is a lot of confusion around age in the UK when it comes to work, adverts, and what can and can't be asked of you and valid reasons, particularly with recent changes in the law.

In fact the situation is now clearer than ever, as since late 2006 the law says that companies must not discriminate on the basis of age - and companies that do offer large penalties if they don't comply with the law on this so it is not something they have a choice on.

If you are under 65, then it now illegal for you to be forced to retire. Any age discrimination at interview or with regard recruitment and promotion is also illegal, so if you don't get a job purely because of your age then for instance that's not an acceptable decision for a company to make.

There is a government campaign which tries to ensure that age discrimination does not take place and that so called 'age diversity' is the norm across businesses, blending enthusiasm of youth and the experience of age together.

Many older workers have expressed concern that age discrimination will still go on just not in a blatant manner, for instance you won't get the job because of age but the employer will simply cite some other reason which can't be proved definitively one way or the other. However it seems legislation has moved in the right direction in terms of doing what it can to stop such practices.