Home > All articles  Your advertisement here   UK: Banning Age Discrimination isn't going to be easy Politicians face a challenging dilemma as they attempt to introduce age legislation in the UK. By 2006, we will have a law banning discrimination at work on the grounds of age. But, they are caught between the wish to support business, the duty to help workers and the need to curb welfare spending.   Nearly 19 million people in Britain are aged 50 and over, and this is set to rise by 5 million over the next 20 years. For every worker who bows out of the workforce, the Government loses national insurance and tax contributions. And benefit costs are worrying. For economists, the solution is simple. We must encourage people to work longer.   Many people want and need to keep earning up to retirement age, but the Government's own survey on age diversity in employment showed that nine in ten older workers believe that employers discriminate on grounds of age, and one in four claims to have experienced it personally.   Making better use of the skills and knowledge of older workers means a major change in the attitudes and expectations of employers. But the introduction of policies that encourage longer working lives, such as outlawing age discrimination at work, means the Government may find itself at loggerheads with employers. For decades, the larger employers have been using early retirement packages to ease workers over 50 out of full-time, permanent positions.   These incentives have been attractive to employers as well as to many of their older staff. This would amount to age discrimination, though, under the new legislation, since it only applies to workers of a certain age.   Dr Kerry Platman, of the British Society of Gerontology said: "The Government is torn between its own spending limits, the concerns of businesses and the employment rights of the workforce. Reconciling all the tensions is a formidable task. Today we are discussing older workers and providing positive solutions. We hope that the policy makers take heed."   This is no ordinary conference. From all around the world, it brings together respected academics, professionals working with older people and older people themselves from a wide variety of backgrounds and cultures. Other key discussions on the agenda are: Pensions Poverty National Service Framework for Older People Sexuality Growing older on a minority group Homelessness and older people Abuse and Harassment   By AG Date 01-11-2004 Print this news| Send to a friend Your advertisement here