New anti-age discrimination laws that came into force on 1st October 2006.

The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 outlaws age discrimination in the workplace. It has been predicted that by 2016 the number of people aged between 50 and 69 is set to increase by 17 per cent. Better health standards mean that some people are choosing to work longer. The new laws will help ensure that people are no longer denied jobs or harassed because of their age, and in most cases, workers of all ages will have an equal chance of training and promotion.

The regulations (which will not affect the age at which people can claim their state pension) will:

ban age discrimination in terms of recruitment, promotion and training.

ban unjustified retirement ages of below 65.

remove the current age limit for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights.

and introduce:

a right for employees to request working beyond retirement age and a duty on employers to consider that request.

a new requirement for employers to give at least six months notice to employees about their intended retirement date so that individuals can plan better for retirement, and be confident that "retirement" is not being used as cover for unfair dismissal.

The main points of the legislation are as follows

- A ban on age discrimination in terms of recruitment, promotion and training

- A ban on unjustified retirement ages of below 65.

- Removal of the current age limit for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights.

- Removal of the upper age limit for unfair dismissal and redundancy rights, giving older workers the same rights to claim unfair dismissal or receive a redundancy payment as younger workers, unless there is a genuine retirement

- Allowing pay and non-pay benefits to continue which depend on length of service requirements of 5 years or less or which recognise and reward loyalty and experience and motivate staff

- Removal of the age limits for Statutory Sick Pay, Statutory Maternity Pay, Statutory Adoption Pay and Statutory Paternity Pay, so that the legislation for all four statutory payments applies in exactly the same way to all.

- Removal of the lower and upper age limits in the statutory redundancy scheme, but leave the current age-banded system in place.

- Provides exemptions for many age-based rules in occupational pension schemes.

If you have any questions regarding this legislation or would like advice there are a number of organisations that you can contact. They include,

The Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service (Acas). Acas offers free, confidential and impartial advice on all employment rights issues. You can call the Acas helpline on 08457 474747 from 8.00 am to 6.00 pm Monday to Friday.

Your local Citizens Advice Bureau (CAB) can provide free and impartial advice. You can call Tooting’s CAB on 020 8333 6960.

You can seek legal advice from a solicitor or advice agency on discrimination issues. For advice and support in finding a solicitor or advice agency contact Community Legal Services Direct on 0845 345 43 45.

If you are a member of a trade union, you can get help, advice and support from them. To find contact details of Trade Unions you can go to the TUC website on http://www.tuc.org.uk/tuc/unions_main.cfm or call 020 7636 4030