Eighteen months on, the age discrimination laws are a mess. Lawyers are crying out for authoritative guidance on how they affect their own profession. Managing partners cannot afford to bury their heads in the sand: they must act now to minimise the risk of being sued. Since October 2006, discrimination in the workplace on the grounds of age has been illegal unless it can be “objectively justified as a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim”. In other words, you can treat people less favourably purely on the grounds of their age as long it helps the business to overcome a genuine obstacle. The issue that has kept lawyers guessing since the legislation was introduced is what constitutes a “proportionate". Ironically, while lawyers have been busy advising their clients in other sectors about how to keep on side of the regulations, they have been struggling to grasp what they mean for their own profession.
The Times