More time for pensions Fri Sep 29 00:00:00 BST 2006 … The pensions aspects of the new Regulations have been postponed for two months. They will now take effect on 1 December 2006, but there are likely to be some changes to the provisions before then. Should insurance benefits be exempted from the age regulations? Fri…

Mr Cunningham was asked questions which related to his age at an early stage of the interview process including, on the application form, questions about his living arrangements (’living with parents/renting/mortgaged accommodation’), ‘number of children’, ‘age’ and ‘date of birth’. He provided incorrect information, objecting that the questions were ‘irrelevant and invasive’, and was not…

Ageism laws are changing, drastically, and they are affecting schools in some very specific ways. Hazel Oliver, a partner in law firm Lewis Silkin, explains how to make sure your practices are legal. The new law on age discrimination comes into force this month. The law covers both old and young workers who are disadvantaged…

The High Court has dealt with the first case relating to age discrimination in the UK. This was not a claim under the Age Regulations, but a judicial review case about the government’s decision to change an age-discriminatory rule in the Local Government Pension Scheme (LGPS). The so-called ‘85 Rule’ in the LGPS provided a…

The Royal Cornwall Hospitals NHS Trust has decided to reinstate a number of former employees, all aged over 65, after one of them brought an age discrimination claim. Ann Southcott worked in the therapy department at Treliske Hospital in Truro, Cornwall, part of the Royal Cornwall NHS Trust. The Trust dismissed her, and around 30…

The DTI has responded to the EFA’s concern that the increased cost of providing insured benefits (such as health cover) to older workers could put employers off employing them. In a letter to the Director of the EFA (dated 6 November), the Minister for Employment Relations restates the government’s view that a complete exemption would…

The organisation Heyday, which supports people at or nearing retirement, brought judicial review proceedings challenging the Government’s decision to include a retirement age of 65 in the new age discrimination regulations. Heyday argued that the ability of employers to require employees to retire at or over 65, and to refuse to employ people over 65,…

This guidance note, the third in a series of four on age discrimination, looks at discrimination issues in relation to pay and benefits. The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 (S1 2006/1031) prohibit age discrimination in the terms of employment afforded to employees. This prohibition mirrors the provisions of the other UK anti-discrimination legislation, but the…

Age Discrimination (1) Mon May 01 00:00:00 BST 2006 … New Legislation coming into force in autumn 2006 will protect against discrimination on the grounds of age in the fields of employment and vocational training. This guidance note, the first in a series of four on age, introduces the legislation and examines its scope.

Certain terms and conditions around pensions and insured perks mean employers may be reluctant to retain staff over 65 years who they would have kept on before new age laws were introduced. James Davies, joint head of employment and incentives at Lewis Silkin explores the issue. Age discrimination laws are aimed primarily at tackling the…