Workers ignorant about ageism laws

Workers ignorant about ageism laws

	Published : Mon, 25 Sep 2006 10:15 By : Andrew Stead Print this Story

LONDON - Many UK workers are not aware of the ageism laws that are set to come into effect on 1 October, a survey by the Employers Forum on Age has found. The survey said that even if workers are aware that age discrimination will be outlawed, many believe that firms would still hesitate to employ older people.

The survey involved 1,000 people aged above 16. It found that 50 percent were unaware of the new laws, while 61 percent of the respondents said they knew of instances of ageist behavior at their workplace. The survey also found that age was still a criterion in many workplaces and both the young and old workers stood to lose out on pay and promotion due to their age.

"Ageism is endemic in our society and rife in our workplaces," commented Sam Mercer, of the Employers Forum on Age. "This legislation will help provide protection for people who feel that they have been discriminated against on grounds of their age." Mr Mercer added that ageism needed to be rooted out of the society like racism and sexism were outlawed.

A prominent feature of the new law is that employers will not be able to ask people to retire before the age of 65, even though the standard retirement age is still 60. The government will be reviewing the retirement criteria of 65 year in 2011.

Meanwhile a separate survey by the charity Help the Aged found that a quarter of people aged 55 to 64 believe that many firms would not employ them beyond the age of 65. This despite the fact that many people will be forced to work longer due to the ongoing pensions crisis. The charity said older people must realize that they can take action against age discrimination.

Help the Aged spokeswoman Kate Jopling said the government had a huge job to do in this respect, "While the new regulations will make a difference, it's regrettable that the government has seen fit to continue to allow employers to force people to retire at 65," she added.