Age
The UK population is ageing. Although the population grew by 8% in the last thirty years or so, from 55.9 million in 1971 to 60.2 million in mid-2005, this change has not occurred evenly across all age groups.
The proportion of the population aged 65 and over has increased, but the proportion below the age of 16 has generally decreased over the last thirty years. By the end of 2006, in the UK, half of everyone aged 16 or over will be over 50.
On 1st October 2006, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations came into effect. The aim of the Regulations is to eliminate unfair discrimination based on age in employment and vocational training. At present there is no protection against discrimination in areas such as access to goods, facilities and services, including housing.
The regulations (which do not affect the age at which people can claim their state pension):
The UK population is ageing. Although the population grew by 8% in the last thirty years or so, from 55.9 million in 1971 to 60.2 million in mid-2005, this change has not occurred evenly across all age groups.
The proportion of the population aged 65 and over has increased, but the proportion below the age of 16 has generally decreased over the last thirty years. By the end of 2006, in the UK, half of everyone aged 16 or over will be over 50.
On 1st October 2006, the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations came into effect. The aim of the Regulations is to eliminate unfair discrimination based on age in employment and vocational training. At present there is no protection against discrimination in areas such as access to goods, facilities and services, including housing.
The regulations (which do not affect the age at which people can claim their state pension):
- Ban age discrimination in terms of recruitment, promotion and training.
- Ban unjustified retirement ages below 65.
- Remove the current age limit for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights.
They will also introduce:
- A right for employees to request working beyond retirement age and a duty on employers to consider that request.
- A new requirement for employers to give at least six months' notice to employees about their intended retirement date so that individuals can plan better for retirement and be confident that "retirement" is not being used as cover for unfair dismissal.
