PRIME Initiative

PRIME, the charity behind this web site, has warned about misconceptions over the UK’s new anti-age discrimination law. Ridiculous as it sounds, some people have got the impression it outlaws efforts to help the victims.

In reality the objective of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 is to assist people facing age discrimination - and regulation 29 specifically allows positive action to “prevent or compensate for disadvantages linked to age”.

This regulation gives organisations like PRIME (the Prince’s Initiative for Mature Enterprise) and its partners in the business support, education and voluntary sectors all the authority they need to provide age-related programmes.

The confusion arises because to help a disadvantaged group you often have to target it and offer special provision. People who haven’t read the regulations assume this isn’t permitted - but it is.

Regulation 29 explicitly allows positive action to “prevent or
compensate for disadvantages linked to age”. The DTI’s own guidance makes it clear that disadvantage includes things like the under-representation of a particular age group in the job market, or exceptional difficulty getting employment. There is abundant evidence that this is the case for the over 50s.

The test here is similar to exceptions provided in other
anti-discrimination laws such as the Race Relations Act, which also allow support organisations to assist particular disadvantaged groups.

In fact the age regulations allow even more latitude - you don’t have to produce evidence the age group is disadvantaged but merely reasonably assert that this appears to be the case to you.

You can read the actual statutory instrument that brings the Age Regulations into law yourself - including the key paragraph 29 that provides organisations with all the authority they need to provide age-related programmes.

However, for any support organisation that is having difficulty reassuring an advertising person, venue manager or potential sponsor, PRIME would be happy to provide enough evidence to make their toes curl if pointing to the law itself doesn’t work. The over 50s really do have a difficult time in UK’s job market - that’s precisely why this legislation was passed.

Unintended consequences are the bane of law making. In this case the confusion will soon pass, as people notice that Age Concern - which lobbied hard for this legislation, hasn’t felt the need to rename itself Concern, or that Help the Aged - another strong supporter, hasn’t turned itself into just Help.

Basically the law on this occasion is sensible. It doesn’t in any way outlaw efforts to help ageism’s victims or get them back into work.

Meanwhile here are some stats to bludgeon doubters with.

The employment rate for those aged between 50 and state pension age is 70%. This compares to an employment rate for 25-49 year-olds of 81%. (Source: Labour Force Survey). So it’s a lot lower. The Government’s own target is to get it up to 80%.

In the UK 1.5 million out of the 2.5 million people of working age who are dependent on benefits are over the age of 50 (Source: Department for Work and Pensions).

Only 31% of over-50s made redundant succeed in getting a new job within three months, compared with 50% of 25-49 year olds (Source: Labour Market Trends, 2004).

Once unemployed, over-50s are more likely to stay unemployed: 38% of men aged 50 to State Pension Age are unemployed for over 12 months compared to 25% of under-50s (Source: Office for National Statistics, 2004).