Approximately one third of the UK population, more than 20 million people, are over the age of 50 years. With improvements in medical science the proportion of healthy older people continues to grow. Whilst age discrimination is not the exclusive preserve of this group, the legislation was principally drafted to protect their rights which have been eroded on a continual basis with those over 40 years old having difficulty in finding employment due to prejudice. If you belive that the regulations have been breached in your case you should take immediate advice from an age discrimination solicitor.
Our age discrimination solicitors deal with applications to the Employment Tribunal based on the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations which came into force in 2006 making it unlawful for employers to discriminate on the basis of age in regards to most employment matters including :-
The 2006 age discrimination regulations apply to all employees with no upper or lower age limit. Direct and indirect age discrimination is unlawful subject to exception if the employer is able to provide objective justification for the prejudice. Breach of the regulations by offending employers makes them liable to pay unlimited financial penalties to the offended worker:-
The question of age bias or discrimination can be more difficult to diagnose than the title suggests. It can be more sophisticated than someone being turned down for employment because management wants to work with younger people or someone who exceeds an established age. Representations and cross examination made by an age discrimination solicitor to the Employment Tribunal will often ferret out the true intentions of an errant business.
A few of the various topics in regards to age discrimination consist of the following:
The law precludes any firm or employer from choosing likely employees basded on that person’s age. Consideration must be based on the qualifications of the candidate.
Upper limits placed on age in redundancy and unfair dismissal cases no longer exist. Workers at any age may bring a claim for compensation on unwarranted dismissals or redundancy.
An employee is allowed to seek authorisation from the employer to work past the mandatory retirement age of sixty-five. An employer is under obligation to examine the employee’s request for continued employment; however, the employee is required to furnish a six month notice of their planned retirement date.
Experience and employment length may still be utilised as a consideration for the rate of pay and the benefits an employee collects however neither can be tied to age.
Age is still used to calculate redundancy compensation due to an employee who has been terminated, however a proposal has been made to change calculations from age-based to a system that would use a person’s years of employment to calculate such compensatory payments.
When making a decision about which workers to terminate in a redundancy setting, the use of “last in, first out” basis is now unlawful.
Our age discrimination solicitors deal with this type of compensation claim before the Employment Tribunal. You do not have to fund or finance your claim upfront and you only pay legal charges based on an agreed percentage of the final award if you win and receive compensation. If you lose the case you pay nothing. Our age discrimination solicitors compensation claims are completely risk free. If you would like free advice on age discrimination compensation claims without further obligation from a specialist employment solicitor, just complete the contact form or use the helpline or email our offices. If you chose to instruct our employment law solicitors to represent you, an attempt will be made to agree settlement with your employer's representatives failing which an urgent application for compensation will be made to the Employment Tribunal to determine the issues. Please bear in mind that there are strict time limits applicable to an Employment Tribunal application which must be submitted within three months of the last unlawful incident subject to the discretion of the chairman. Time is of the essence and you need to take advice from an age discrimination solicitor without delay or the opportunity to claim compensation may be lost forever.
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations apply to employees in both the public and private sectors and provide protection to both young and old. There are provisions for recruitment, training, transfers, promotions, redundancy and termination. The legislation covers both direct and indirect age discrimination making it unlawful for an employer to favour any particular age group. The previous statutory retirement age no longer applies and employers cannot force retirement unless it is 'objectively appropriate and necessary'. It is unlawful for an employer to take any of the following actions based on age :-
There are still some situations that are exempt from the age discrimination legislation including :-
Our employment solicitors deal with compensation claims in UK. They specialise in claims arising as a result of industrial disputes. You will receive a complete professional service from solicitors who specialise in claiming compensation as a result of employment disputes.
Specialist employment lawyers deal exclusively in employment matters and are able to pursue or negotiate claims and can provide representation anywhere in the United Kingdom. If you would like to talk confidentially to an experienced solicitor just use the helpline, email or complete and send the contact form.
Age discrimination compensation claims are a relatively new weapon in the employment solicitor's armory and the relevant law is dynamic with new rules, regulations and case law altering and amending the previous position on an almost weekly basis. Employment solicitors are specialists who only deal with cases that may eventually be referred to an Employment Tribunal or to the Employment Appeal Tribunal. Damages awarded in an age discrimination compensation claim are unlimited and it is therefore incumbent on employers to ensure that they apply these complicated rules and regulations correctly. If you believe that you have been the victim of age discrimination please do not hesitate to make contact for further information. A specialist employment solicitor will take a detailed look at your situation and the circumstances of any potential discrimination before giving you advice on liability and the value of any potential award. There is no charge for this service with is given without further obligation. If you do decide to instruct our specialist employment solicitors to act on your behalf, they will zealously represent your interests and will ensure that you receive maximum compensation for any wrong that you have suffered.