Age Discrimination – Ageism in Employment and Service Provision

Citation

Stephenson, J. (2013), "Age Discrimination – Ageism in Employment and Service Provision", Equality, Diversity and Inclusion, Vol. 32 No. 6, pp. 629-631. https://doi.org/10.1108/EDI-05-2013-0023

Age Discrimination, Ageism in Employment and Service Provision (Sargeant, 2011) is a successor to Age Discrimination in Employment published in 2007 by the same author which explored age discrimination and the path toward the enactment of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, 2007 in the UK. The current (2011) version of the text titled Age Discrimination – Ageism in Employment and Service Provision is intended to update and expand the 2007 publication, taking into consideration legislative changes which have occurred since that time, to wit the enactment of the UK's Equality Act, 2010 which replaces the Age Regulations, 2006. The book is in hardback format and is 256 pages in length. At a retail price of $124.95 it represents good value for money and is accessible to a varied audience of undergraduate and postgraduate students, academic scholars, human resource management practitioners, business owners, legal scholars and equality advocates.

The book starts by defining age discrimination and outlining the parameters of age discrimination and suggests that stereotyping may be one reason for the perpetuation of discrimination on the basis of age and moreover older workers may face greater discrimination when compared to other age groups, though younger groups may also be affected. The author informs readers that the issue of age discrimination in employment but also within wider society is an important one, especially given increasingly ageing global populations. Notwithstanding this, age discrimination may affect anyone at any age and legal protection in the UK is not limited to specific age groups. Thus, the salient issue to be considered is if age discrimination is permitted workers may not be favourably considered for employment when even where they may be fully competent and able to complete required tasks efficiently, age notwithstanding.

The author further discusses these issues and suggests that with population ageing predicted worldwide, it is important for employers to be willing to ignore age and neither regard it as a determining factor when deciding which candidate is offered a position nor relatedly as a factor which determines which candidates progress throughout the organisation via training and developmental or promotional opportunities being afforded to them.

The book outlines the trajectory of the current UK anti‐discrimination legislation from its infancy as a commitment by Labour government in 1997 to take action on age discrimination and its first tentative steps to do so by voluntarist or morally persuasive approaches. However, it was subsequently forced into adopting a legislative approach by an European Community (EC) directive (EC/2000/78) which made it mandatory for EC member states to implement legislation with a view of protecting those who might encounter age discrimination. The journey in the UK from an absence of anti‐discrimination legislation to the AR 2006 after a series of consultations with various stakeholders is discussed by the author as is the subsequent absorption of the Age Regulations, 2006 into the Equality Act, 2010 thus expanding the scope of protection from unlawful discrimination on the basis of age in employment only, to include non‐discrimination in the area of the provision of goods and services.

The author explains the current status of the European labour market, the development and effect of the legal provisions implemented there and the challenges facing European Union countries outside of the UK, as they face the onset of aging populations and by extension an ageing labour force. Also discussed is the scope of the EC framework directive which is important as it guides and limits the scope of the UK legislation as well as the various approaches of EU countries in adopting and implementing this directive. The book also dedicates a chapter to a discussion on age discrimination and legislation prohibiting such discrimination from an international perspective. Thus it includes a synopsis of the measures taken by Australia, Canada, Ireland and the USA, the development and scope of the current anti‐discrimination legislation within those jurisdictions, their efficacy to some extent and the areas of employment where age discrimination and the attendant legislation may have the greatest impact.

The author dedicates a chapter of the book to a discussion on retirement, pensions and mandatory retirement age. Various schools of thought are presented including those which subscribe to and those which the oppose validity of a retirement age and the value which older workers can offer employers or whether it is best for older persons to retire thus allowing greater opportunities for younger people. The author follows this by discussing the implications within the UK of the abolition of a mandatory retirement age whilst a legislative provision continues to exist for employers to impose a mandatory retirement age where it can be legitimately justified and with the use of evidence can be shown to be a means of achieving aims which are both appropriate and necessary for the organisation concerned.

The establishment of the EA 2010 allows legal protection on the grounds of age, disability, gender re‐assignment, marriage, civil partnership, pregnancy, maternity, race, religion/belief, sex and sexual orientation. Thus in addition the EA 2010 allows aggrieved parties to make complaints on multiple grounds of discrimination rather than on single grounds as previously permitted in the AR 2006. The author discusses the likely impact of this amendment and the broadened scope of legal cases of discrimination which may be made against employers on the basis of age and ethnicity; age and sexual orientation; age and gender, inter alia.

This text is an excellent follow up to its 2007 predecessor as it gives up to date information reflecting the current legal and employment situation primarily in the UK but also includes the perspectives of other EU countries as well as international jurisdictions. Readers who are interested in age discrimination in the UK and further afield would benefit from reading this book since it explains and describes the way in which the legislation came about and gives the reader an insight into the iterative consultation process and the final ratified legislation. It outlines in layman's terms, the permissible and prohibited behaviour without the need for the reader to be a specialist attorney trained in legalese. Interested persons can glean tremendous insight into the area by reading this book by Sargeant, it includes explanations of the legally permitted exceptions, the provisions, the action which aggrieved parties might take where age discrimination on the basis of age is perpetuated and the remedies to which they might be entitled. The language used in the book is clear, concise and unpretentious and the issues raised are salient, relevant and well presented. This book is an excellent text and is cost effective, it meets its objectives and offers students, academics and practitioners and other stakeholders alike an excellent opportunity to explore the area of age discrimination. It's use of academic references and statistics and real life applications of relevant legislation allows readers insight into ways in which age discrimination legislation may be applied and advances the reader's understanding of a wide range of age discrimination issues from both a practical and theoretical perspective. The use of multiple references throughout book, not only of academic journals but also of statistics and other sources allows readers the scope to research further areas of interest should they choose to do so.

Notwithstanding this, there are some limitations, though the text offers an excellent overview of the area, save for retirement to which an entire chapter is dedicated, other aspects of employment practice, where age discrimination may occur are not addressed in similar copious detail. Thus the manner in which age discrimination may manifest itself in aspects of employment such as recruitment and selection, training and development, promotion, remuneration, inter alia, are not discussed in sufficient detail. Indeed an inclusion of a chapter which addresses these issues, would have contributed to a more well balanced text. Additionally, notwithstanding the introduction of anti age discrimination legislation in the UK, there are only transient references to adjudicated cases and perhaps it would have been instructive to dedicate a chapter to exploring the details of age discrimination cases heard by courts and employment tribunals as a means by which the efficacy of the legislation may be measured.