Too Old to Rock 'n' Roll?

Friday, 25 March 2011 00:00

It could particularly affect female drivers and men buying annuities. Interestingly, in that same week the Government published a consultation on new proposals under the Equality Act 2010 about age discrimination. These seem to have slipped under the radar despite publicity surrounding Miriam O'Reilly's successful complaint against the BBC for age discrimination at work.

From April 2012 the intention is to bring into effect provisions that will outlaw discrimination, outside of the workplace, on the basis of age. Those who provide services or exercise public functions, and private clubs and other associations, will be affected. Some charities will be caught too.

But the consultation sets out some important exceptions that charities should note:

• Age-based concessions – organisations could still offer these on the basis that the concession helps the age group to which it applies (e.g. discounted admission fees for people aged over 65).
• Sport – this would allow competitions and sport events to impose an age restriction (e.g. under-21 teams and veterans competitions).

There is also to be an exception for financial services, allowing age to be considered as a risk factor when calculating prices. This seems to be at odds with the recent European decision. It is distinctly possible that, now that using gender to assess risk has been challenged by the court, using age in the same way will be challenged too.

Charities and businesses that have concerns about how the proposed ban may affect them should consider taking part in the consultation process which ends on 25 May 2011. Our specialist charity and company lawyers are happy to advise on these matters.