Less than one month until age discrimination regulations hit UK businesses

With less than one month until the age discrimination regulations come into force, leading business and financial adviser Grant Thornton is urging mid-corporates to ensure they are ready for the biggest shake up in employment legislation seen this century.

The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, as with other anti-discrimination legislation, is based around the principle of fairness with specific reference to overcoming preconceptions about age and ensuring all employees are treated equally regardless of their age. The regulations will apply to all aspects of the employment relationship and it is easy to get caught out trying to do the right thing. For example, ignoring performance shortfalls in someone approaching retirement age may be viewed as discriminatory if those same shortfalls would be seen as disciplinary measures for younger employees.

Jim Rogers, Head of Growth and Strategic Services, at Grant Thornton says: "No matter what size your organisation is, you will still be affected by the new regulations and be expected to follow them come 1 October. With less than a month to go, it is imperative that businesses act now to ensure they are ready."

"While many larger organisations will be well prepared, many SMEs do not have a dedicated HR resource and it will be some time before they are ready to implement the regulations," continues Rogers. "However, there are a number of measures that SMEs can undertake over the next 30 days in preparation for the 1 October deadline."

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