HC Deb 16 July 2003 vol 409 cc371-2W
Mr. Bellingham

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate her Department has made of the additional cost to businesses arising from the need, under the Government's implementation of the Equal Treatment at Work Directive, to compensate employees taking early retirement who might have worked on until they were 70; and if she will make a statement. [125296]

Mr. Sutcliffe

Early retirement packages are a matter for negotiation between employer and employee. The Government are consulting on proposals to prohibit age discrimination under the EU Employment Directive. The proposals include options relating to retirement age, but would not require changes to the age at which pensions may be payable. They do not, therefore, require additional costs to businesses in relation to early retirement.

Mr. Bellingham

To ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry what estimate her Department has made of the expected quantity of age discrimination claims against employers from employees per year as a result of EU Directives in terms of(a) volume and (b) value; and if she will make a statement. [125297]

Mr. Sutcliffe

The Regulatory Impact Assessment that accompanies the "Equality and Diversity: Age Matters" consultation document has used existing discrimination cases as a pointer to estimate the number and cost of age discrimination claims that might arise.

We would expect about 8,000 Employment Tribunal applications to be made per year, at an average cost to an employer of between £2,000 and £4,000 per case. To reduce the potential burden on employers, the Government are aiming to have the Regulations outlawing age discrimination in place by the end of 2004 so that employers have ample time to change their internal systems to reduce the likelihood of claims being made against them when the legislation comes into force on 1 October 2006.