About Cottrills
Age Regulations Legislation
What impact has it had on awarding for Long Service?
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations came into force on 1st October 2006. These regulations introduced a broad prohibition on age discrimination in the areas of employment and vocational training, unless objectively justified.
These notes are just a brief guide for anyone wondering how the Age Regulations could impact upon their loyal service award scheme**.
The Age Regulations currently contain some general provisions relating to service-related pay and benefits.
Awards which depend on length of service will be exempt if they are intended to reflect experience, encourage and reward loyalty, or to maintain or increase motivation. Secondly, if the employer concludes that the overall aim pursued by making an award will bring a business benefit, then the scheme should not contravene the proposed legislation.
In summary, an employer has to conclude that more experienced staff do a better job, or that rewarding staff loyalty or boosting staff motivation is good for business.
Popular measures to assess how your organisation may benefit from such schemes could include:-
| Measures |
Feedback |
|---|---|
Reduction in turnover |
Employee Surveys |
Improved retention |
Line Manager views |
Increased customer satisfaction |
Trade union & staff association feedback |
|
Staff review groups |
|
Exit interviews |
** Under these new regulations, the scheme title Long Service was deemed to have the potential of being discriminatory against the age of an employee. The title Loyal Service is now commonly used in its place.
