Challenges to Age Discrimination

A number of challenges are likely to be made to the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 which became law on 1st October 2006.

The retirement group Heyday is taking the government to the High Court over the mandatory retirement age section of the regulations which it believes will permit employers to force employees into retirement when they reach 65 and also enable them to avoid recruiting the over 65's. They claim the new law does not implement the European Equal Treatment Directive correctly. The British Chamber of
Commerce and the Age and Employment Network have both suggested a challenge could be made to the national minimum wage system, which differentiates pay on the basis of age and allows employees under the age of 22 to receive lower rates of pay.

A number of Premiership football clubs also face a challenge over their policy of only offering one year contracts to players over the age of 30 and in some instances renewing contracts on a lower rate of pay.