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LRD guides and handbook July 2013
Representing older workers - a guide for trade union negotiators
Introduction
Introduction (900 words)
The UK has an ageing population and an ageing workforce. Throughout the 1990s, fewer than 8% of men over 65 and women over 60 were in work. By 2006, ...
Open access
Chapter 1
1. OLDER WORKERS AND THE LAW (75 words)
The Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010) largely came into force on 1 October 2010 consolidating and enhancing UK anti-discrimination law in a single piece ...
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Who is protected under the Equality Act 2010? (126 words)
The EA 2010 protects workers, not just employees. It covers agency workers and sub-contracted workers, and self-employed workers can also be covered ... Subscribers only
Unlawful discrimination (359 words)
Under the Act, the following forms of discrimination are ... Subscribers only
Discrimination arising from disability (65 words)
This is a new offence and occurs where a disabled person is treated unfavourably because of something connected to their disability. There are two ... Subscribers only
Indirect discrimination (100 words)
This occurs where an employer’s policy, practice or rule (that may apply to everyone) puts people with a particular protected characteristic at a ... Subscribers only
Victimisation (140 words)
Section 27 of the EA 2010 makes it unlawful for an employer to victimise someone because they have made complaints of discrimination, irrespective ... Subscribers only
Harassment (605 words)
Section 26(1) of the EA 2010 defines harassment as unwanted conduct which has the purpose or effect of violating the employee’s dignity, or ... Subscribers only
Pre-employment medicals (55 words)
The EA 2010 has made pre-employment medicals and questionnaires illegal, with limited exceptions. According to TUC advice: “Prospective employers ... Subscribers only
Taking a claim to an employment tribunal (131 words)
An individual who has been unlawfully discriminated against has the right to take their case to an employment tribunal. Once a worker has ... Subscribers only
Public Sector Equality Duty (99 words)
The EA 2010 introduced a single equality duty on public bodies (or those carrying out public functions) to pay due regard to the need to eliminate ... Subscribers only
Age discrimination (337 words)
Section 5 of the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010) makes it unlawful to discriminate a worker on the grounds of their age, although an employer may be ... Subscribers only
Direct and indirect discrimination in practice (216 words)
It is unlawful for an employer to advertise a job stating that the applicant must be a certain age. The only circumstance where it is lawful to ... Subscribers only
Access to promotion and job changes (399 words)
Employers must ensure that workers have equal access to jobs once in the workplace, including promotions. If they operate a practice that makes it ... Subscribers only
Terms and conditions (36 words)
It is unlawful to discriminate over the terms and conditions available to staff if based on age, although again the employer may be able to escape ... Subscribers only
Disciplinary and grievance procedures (67 words)
Employers must comply with non-discrimination legislation when applying disciplinary or grievance procedures. In general, this means that all else ... Subscribers only
Termination of employment (113 words)
Employers who dismiss for discriminatory reasons, or who select employees for redundancy on discriminatory grounds, are in breach of discrimination ... Subscribers only
Redundancy (712 words)
Employers cannot select for redundancy on discriminatory grounds, but they do have the right to set redundancy pay based on the person’s earnings ... Subscribers only
Employer defences to discrimination claims (248 words)
An employer can escape liability for discriminatory treatment of older workers on two main ... Subscribers only
Exceptions and exemptions for age from the Equality Act 2010 (71 words)
There are a number of exceptions within the Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010) which allow employers to treat people differently according to age; these ... Subscribers only
Positive action (227 words)
Although it is unlawful to positively discriminate in favour of protected groups (other than in relation to disabled people) section 158 of EA 2010 ... Subscribers only
Retirement age (1,040 words)
The law on compulsory retirement changed on 6 April 2011 with the abolition of the Default Retirement Age (DRA) of 65 by the Employment Equality ... Subscribers only
Unfair dismissal (67 words)
The Regulations removing the DRA have also amended unfair dismissal law. Retirement is no longer an automatically fair reason for dismissal. ... Subscribers only
Chapter 2
2. AGE DIVERSITY IN EQUALITY POLICIES AND PRACTICE (383 words)
Age discrimination legislation has been on the statute book for more than half a decade now (see Chapter 1). But TUC research shows that the most ... Subscribers only
Older teachers and age discrimination (302 words)
The teachers’ union NASUWT has become increasingly worried about the extent of age discrimination against teachers aged 50 or over and those who ... Subscribers only
Multiple discrimination (288 words)
According to a report by the Learning and Skills Improvement Service (LSIS) older workers can suffer multiple discrimination, particularly age and ... Subscribers only
The business case for action (526 words)
Guidance produced jointly by the TUC and the Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD), Managing age , says that age discrimination is ... Subscribers only
Acas advice to employers (511 words)
Acas advises employers to review their policies and procedures for age bias, including those ... Subscribers only
Age diversity in equality policies and practice (307 words)
Joint guidance from the TUC and Chartered Institute for Personnel Development (CIPD), Managing age (www.tuc.org.uk/extras/ManagingAgeGuide.pdf), ... Subscribers only
Graduate recruitment (255 words)
Setting a criterion that requires applicants to have a university qualification could exclude applicants whose strengths lie in the knowledge they ... Subscribers only
Job adverts (119 words)
A statement in job advertisements that the organisation strives to be an equal opportunity employer and that it welcomes job applications from ... Subscribers only
Job application forms (59 words)
It is good practice to remove age and date of birth questions from the main application form and include it in a diversity monitoring form to be ... Subscribers only
Job description and person specification (103 words)
Acas advises employers to avoid references to age in both the job description and the person specification. It adds: “Qualifications have changed ... Subscribers only
Shortlisting (149 words)
Even if age-related information is removed from application forms, applicants could still make reference to their age on the form. ... Subscribers only
Interviewing (82 words)
Having more than one person to interview candidates can help to reduce personal bias and ideally interviewers of different ages and from different ... Subscribers only
DWP Recruitment checklist (227 words)
} Do focus on the type of skills and experience needed to do the job. ... Subscribers only
Training (1,173 words)
Research, including the Adult Learners’ Week annual survey carried out by the National Institute of Adult Continuing Education (NIACE), has shown ... Subscribers only
Vocational training (286 words)
The Equality Act 2010 (EA 2010) covers organisations providing vocational education and training to the wider community, including general ... Subscribers only
ACAS Checklist on promotion and training (166 words)
} Opportunities for promotion and training should be made known to all employees and be available to everyone on a fair and equal ... Subscribers only
Age discrimination awareness training (131 words)
It is good practice for all organisations to have an Equality Policy and to train all employees and update them on a regular basis. All employees ... Subscribers only
Educational Institute of Scotland (EIS) recommendations to local negotiators on tackling age discrimination (124 words)
} all equal opportunities policies, including those for recruitment, selection and career development must be free of age ... Subscribers only
Chartered Society of Physiotherapists - Age discrimination checklists for stewards, managers and members (601 words)
} be clear on how you stand on behaviour that discriminates against individuals on grounds of age. Be prepared to challenge remarks, jokes or ... Subscribers only
Pay (206 words)
The TUC and CIPD advise that paying employees according to their age is directly discriminatory and, in most cases, unlawful (although there is an ... Subscribers only
Individualised pay (91 words)
Where employees are on “personal contracts” and pay is linked to performance (individually or within teams), skills, targets or a range of other ... Subscribers only
Removing age discrimination from pay systems (200 words)
The TUC and CIPD say that policies and practices relating to pay and benefit systems should be reviewed in order to identify potentially unlawful ... Subscribers only
Older women and the gender pay gap (290 words)
Women in their 50s earn nearly a fifth less than men of the same age — the widest gender pay gap of any age group, according to a TUC analysis ... Subscribers only
Performance management (1,313 words)
Several trade unions have highlighted concerns around the inappropriate use of capability and competence procedures to “manage” older workers ... Subscribers only
Redundancy (156 words)
The joint TUC and Chartered Institute of Personnel Development (CIPD) guide Managing age highlights the following key messages with regard to older ... Subscribers only
Last in, first out (502 words)
Managing age sets out that length-of-service criteria, such as last in/first out or LIFO, may be used in a similar way to age, because it is felt ... Subscribers only
Voluntary redundancy and early retirement (132 words)
Care should be taken to ensure that employees, regardless of age, are not pressured into volunteering for voluntary redundancy. ... Subscribers only
Redundancy pay (562 words)
The TUC/CIPD guidance, Managing age sets out that there is no upper or lower age limit for statutory redundancy pay (SRP). Anyone made redundant who ... Subscribers only
Retirement (236 words)
Abolition of the DRA does not prevent an employer discussing retirement plans with workers. Employers are permitted to talk to employees about their ... Subscribers only
FBU and retirement age (108 words)
The FBU fire brigades’ union has called the government’s proposals to raise the retirement age for firefighters from 55 to 60 “completely ... Subscribers only
Pension schemes (691 words)
The TUC and CIPD joint guidance, Managing age www.tuc.org.uk/extras/managingageguide.pdf, explains that the following types of pension schemes are ... Subscribers only
Chapter 3
3. OLDER WORKERS AND FLEXIBLE WORKING (779 words)
As workers age, and the UK workforce itself ages, caring for elders will replace caring for children as the number one work-life balance issue. ... Subscribers only
The law on flexible working (381 words)
The Employment Act 2002 gave parents of young or disabled children the right to request flexible working and the Work and Families Act 2006 extended ... Subscribers only
Flexible retirement (1,424 words)
A survey conducted by the Centre for Research into Older Workers (CROW) showed that 80% of people in work would like to stay in work beyond their ... Subscribers only
Acas retirement checklist for employees: (111 words)
} if you are thinking about retiring talk to your ... Subscribers only
TUC/CIPD flexible working checklist for employers (267 words)
} Can the hours be changed for some jobs? ... Subscribers only
TUC/CIPD Flexible Working Checklist for Employees (414 words)
} What kind of work do I want to do? ... Subscribers only
TUC/CIPD Flexible Working Checklist for Reps (85 words)
} What arrangements could work? ... Subscribers only
Flexible retirement and pensions (102 words)
Some pension schemes allow employees who reach pensionable age to draw their pensions while staying in work. This can help an employee to reduce ... Subscribers only
Union negotiated agreements on flexible working (877 words)
The DWP reports that Herefordshire County Council has undertaken work to promote flexible working to older employees that has had a positive effect ... Subscribers only
Chapter 4
4. HEALTH AND SAFETY AND OLDER WORKERS (155 words)
Research undertaken for Age Concern and Help the Aged (now Age UK) and The Age and Employment Network (TAEN) found that despite their increased ... Subscribers only
Age and capability (294 words)
Physically demanding tasks may become more difficult for people as they get older, and work requirements and challenges can also cause work-related ... Subscribers only
Good work, good health guidelines and older workers at BT (416 words)
BT has a workforce of more than 70,000 in the UK and almost 30,000 are over 50 — a “relatively elderly workforce” according to Ben Marshall, ... Subscribers only
Stress (373 words)
There is evidence suggesting that work-related stress increases with age, particularly for older women. For example, a 2009 report for the ... Subscribers only
Menopause (918 words)
As increasing numbers of women of menopausal age are working in the UK, the issue of the menopause is increasingly becoming a workplace issue. It ... Subscribers only
The Workability Index Model (351 words)
The idea of measuring the ability of an individual to sustain a working life, emerged during the early 1980s in Finland. Through collective ... Subscribers only
Union guidance (411 words)
The general union GMB’s guide, Safety representatives’ guide for older workers, recommends that employers develop a policy for older people at ... Subscribers only
Further information on older workers and health and safety (140 words)
Older women, work and health; Older men, work and health; and Ageing, work-related stress and health, are available on the Age and Employment ... Subscribers only
Further information
Further information (303 words)
Acas provides a range of information on age discrimination and employing older workers including the guidance referred to in this booklet: Age and ... Subscribers only