§ Lord Lester of Herne Hillasked Her Majesty's Government:
Whether they intend to introduce legislation making it unlawful to discriminate on grounds of age not only in employment but also in the provision of facilities and services to the public; and, if not, why not; and [HL4309]
Whether they will reconsider their timetable for the introduction of age discrimination legislation so as to ensure that such legislation has been enacted and brought into force before the next general election. [HL4310].
§ The Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State, Department of Trade and Industry (Lord Sainsbury of Turville)Implementing the age strand of the Employment Framework Directive (2000/78) is a significant undertaking. The directive includes proposals for outlawing unfair discrimination at work and in vocational training, on the new grounds of not only age, but also sexual orientation and religion or belief. This is a major step in itself, and the Government do not believe it would be sensible to be distracted from the difficult task of resolving the complexities associated with outlawing age discrimination at work and in training. Therefore, the Government have no plans at present to extend legislation to goods and services.
There are significant practical issues to be worked through in consultation with employers, particularly small businesses, and others who may be affected. Unlike sexual orientation and religion, differences of treatment on the grounds of age are capable of objective justification under the directive in certain circumstances. The directive itself acknowledges that age is more complex than the other strands by allowing a longer time for implementation—December 2006 instead of December 2003. The Government will make full use of the extra time to make sure that eventual legislation is practical and helpful to employers and employees.
129WAWe have already undertaken widespread consultation to identify what age-related practices employers have and why they might need to retain them. The consultation document Towards Equality and Diversity identified, and invited views on, key age issues. We want to prohibit unfair practices so as to remove the barriers which people of all ages can face in the workplace. We do not want to ban employment practices which can be clearly and objectively justified. We shall consider each of these areas in the light of the responses to the consultation, and will consult again with a set of firm proposals.