Discrimination in relation to the age of employees, job seekers or trainees, regardless of whether they are younger or older, is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010.

It is important to understand the different types of age discrimination, which include:

 Direct Discrimination

• This occurs when an employee, job seeker, or trainee is treated in a unfavourable manner due to their actual age, perceived age or the age of someone they associate with.
• In relation to discrimination due to an employees actual age, this can actually be justified as long as it can be classed as a “proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”, for example all employees should receive at least the national minimum wage for the age range. Although there are exceptions, as a younger employee may be entitled to receive a higher wage, due to their length of service.

• DISABILITY DISCRIMINATION AT WORK

   

  The Equality Act 2010 sets out the rights and responsibilities of disabled workers, who are either mentally or physically disabled, protecting them against discrimination in the workplace.

  To clarify, an employee can be categorised as disabled if they have a long-term physical or mental impairment, which hinders them from carrying out everyday tasks in the workplace, which could include: manual handling, Navigating a computer, colleague interaction, etc.

  There are various types of disability discrimination, including:

• REASONABLE ADJUSTMENTS IN THE WORKPLACE

  

  Under the Equality Act 2010, organisations must provide reasonable adjustments in the workplace in order to accommodate anyone who has a long-term illness, impairment or disability.

  A reasonable adjustment is where an employer removes or minimises anything, within reason, that disadvantages their employee.

  ‘Within reason’ is clearly important, as a small business would not likely have the resources to accommodate all employees who may be at a disadvantage, whereas larger organisations are more likely able to adjust.