Age bands for redundancy will stay

The use of different age bands to calculate statutory redundancy provisions will not be abolished under the new age discrimination laws.

Relying on the provision that different treatment on age grounds can be justified if it achieves a legitimate aim, the government has stated that the retention of the age bands does not contravene European law.

But it will remove the upper and lower age limits of 65 and 18.

The final draft of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 was laid before Parliament in March. They are due to come into force on 1 October 2006.