DTI responds on insured benefits – News – agediscrimination.info

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 be unworkable, due to the wide range of insured benefits, and also unfair in that it would allow employers to exclude older workers from these benefits when there is no good reason for doing so.

Employers who impose upper age limits on insured benefits will therefore, in most circumstances, have to be ready to justify doing so if they face a discrimination challenge. Cost will normally be put forward as the justification, but will rarely be accepted.

As to the alternative – employers ceasing to provide insured benefits to any employee – the DTI is ‘concerned’ about that, will monitor whether the regulations are having that effect and act if they deem it necessary.

Click here for a copy of the EFA’s report.

Click here for a copy of the DTI’s letter in response.

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