Age
The Employment Equality Act applies to people aged between 18 and 65 years (with some exceptions for vocational training for people under 18). The new Act applys to people who are above the school leaving age which is currently 16. However, employers may set a minimum age, up to 18, for recruitment. The upper age limit of 65 is being abolished but some exceptions are introduced.
The changes mean that people over the age of 65 who are at work will be covered by the equality legislation. They will be able to claim unfair dismissal under the Unfair Dismissals Act. People over 66 will still not be eligible for redundancy payments.
This does not mean that there is any change in compulsory retirement arrangements. Retirement age is generally set in the contract of employment.
(Changes are being made, in separate legislation, to compulsory retirement ages for newly recruited civil servants. This is a separate matter from equality legislation.)
Employers may offer a fixed term contract to people who are aged above the compulsory retirement age for that job or they may offer such a contract to a particular class of employees without being considered to be discriminatory on the age grounds.
The Equal Status Act applies to people aged 18 and over. It is also proposed that licensed drivers under the age of 18 will be able to take actions related to equality of treatment in the provision of motor insurance.