The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 came into force on the 1 October 2006. They ban unjustified direct and indirect age discrimination and all harassment and victimisation, of workers of any age, young or old, on the grounds of age. These regulations make it unlawful to discriminate in the areas of recruitment, promotion and training. The regulations also ban unjustified retirement ages of below 65 and remove the current age limit for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights. They also introduce a right for employees to request working beyond retirement age and a duty on employers to consider that request. In addition, there is a requirement now for employers to give at least six months notice to employees about their intended retirement date so that workers can plan for retirement.
In addition to equalities legislation, public authorities need to be mindful of other national policy Initiatives, which impact on older people. Opportunity Age, a ten-year strategy (2005) was developed with the intention of bringing about a cultural change that will ensure that later life is a time of opportunity, not vulnerability. It makes clear that local authorities should take the lead in planning for the ageing of their communities.
Wider duties relating to all citizens also apply to older people. Local authorities, as part of their community leadership role are required to undertake high quality engagement with all local communities. They have an obligation to understand and act on the needs of the communities they serve, to promote equality and tackle inequalities. The Local Government and Public Involvement in Health Act 2007 places a new duty on best value authorities to involve local people in decisions. The new assessment framework, CAA will look at the delivery of outcomes paying particular attention to how well people, whose circumstances make them vulnerable, are engaged with their local services. Public services therefore need to review their approach to older people to ensure they are helping to deliver improved outcomes for this group of people.
All public sector bodies such as fire and police authorities who may not provide direct services to older people still have a role to play in ensuring that service provision meets the needs of all sections of the community including older people.
What does older people's tool cover?
Aging is an issue that affects everyone. National demographic data shows that people are living longer. It is predicted that by 2051 people over the age of 65 are likely to represent over a quarter of the population. The main aim of this tool is to assist public bodies in identifying areas of age discrimination and to address age inequalities particularly in relation to people over the age of 50, over the age of 65 and over the age of 80. It will also assist public bodies in identifying what steps need to be taken to ensure that the quality of life for older people is maximised.