Rt Hon Alistair Darling MP
Currie & Balerno News (Age Discrimination)
A few weeks ago I met a constituent who told me that despite months of trying he couldn’t find a job. He is in his fifties and suspected he was being discriminated against.
More people want to work on into their later years. Indeed it’s predicted that nearly a third of the workforce will be over 50 in fifteen years time. Unfortunately older people can encounter barriers to employment.
So, in October, the government will introduce Age Discrimination legislation. It will be unlawful on the grounds of your age to decide not to employ you, to dismiss you, to refuse to provide you with training, to deny you promotion, to give you adverse terms and conditions or to retire you. It will also remove the upper age limit for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights, giving older workers the same rights as younger workers.
We’ve also improved the quality of work by establishing decent minimum standards in the workplace and tackling unfairness. The national minimum wage rises to £5.35 in October and everyone now has the legal right to four week’s paid holiday. Since 1999 it’s been possible to have time off to deal with family emergencies involving dependents and part time workers now have the same employment rights as full time workers. In April, the new Work and Families Act will extend the right to request flexible working to carers.
Good employers tackle discrimination because it helps to attract, motivate and retain staff making best use of skills and experience in a more diverse workforce which includes older workers.
