§ Mr. JenkinsTo ask the Secretary of State for International Development what strategies her Department has to ensure that there is no ageism in recruitment and retention processes. [79296]
§ Clare ShortMy Department's Equal Opportunities Policy Statement makes it clear that DFID does not permit discrimination on grounds of age in either its recruitment or any of its other personnel management processes.
The only age-related practice has been the operation of an age of retirement of 60—consistent with the normal retiring age specified in the Principal Civil Service Pensions Scheme and with the purposes of section 109(1)(a) (i) of the Employment Rights Act 1996. However, agreement has recently been reached that, with the exception of the Senior Civil Service, staff may, if they so wish, continue to serve until age 65, which will make that the normal retiring age for the purposes of the 1996 Act.