Age-based statutory redundancy pay will be maintained
The government has announced that the variable multiplier for calculating statutory redundancy payments, based on age bands, will be retained when the age discrimination regulations come into force in October. The current age limits on statutory redundancy payments, however, will be removed.
The government made the announcement in a written statement to Parliament on 2 March 2006. It stated that the European Employment Framework Directive allows member states to provide for different treatment on the grounds of age where it is objectively and reasonably justified by a legitimate aim, including employment policy.
The government said it would therefore be retaining the method of calculating statutory redundancy payments by age bands because a system using a single multiplier would leave a significant group of older workers worse off. It said that younger workers are not normally out of work for long periods and see only a small fall in pay when switching jobs, whereas older workers are much more likely to fall into long-term unemployment and to experience a substantial fall in pay when finding a new job. The different levels of support for older workers are therefore justified.
However, the government has decided to remove the lower and upper age limits for statutory redundancy payments, at 18 and 65 respectively, along with the taper at the age of 64, to reflect the fact that employees are now living and working longer.
Statement to Parliament Read the statement on the UK Parliament website.
Redundancy payment Read details of the current method
of calculating statutory redundancy payments.
Also
Retention of
statutory redundancy pay is essential for older workers By the
CBI's HR policy director, Susan Anderson, writing in Personnel
Today.
How to prepare
for the forthcoming age discrimination legislation Practical
guidance from HR & Compliance Centre's How to service.
Age
discrimination Detailed legal guidance from HR & Compliance Centre's reference
manual.
Preparing for age discrimination
legislation Leah de Vries advises employers on how to prepare
for age discrimination legislation, coming into force on 1 October
2006.
Age discrimination
and service-related benefits Alison Loveday investigates the
potential impact of the forthcoming age discrimination Regulations for employers
who award service-related benefits.
What will age discrimination laws mean for
reward? Margaret Kubicek investigates the potential impact of
the forthcoming age discrimination Regulations for reward practitioners,
including the implications for employers who award service-related
benefits.
What impact will the age
Regulations have on the workplace? Christine Jenner of
Winckworth Sherwood identifies some of the main policies, procedures and areas
of workplace culture that will be affected by the age discrimination Regulations
from 1 October 2006.
Test your
knowledge on age discrimination Writing in Personnel Today,
Employers Forum on Age director Sam Mercer presents a quiz to help get you and
your team thinking along 'age aware' lines.
Older people stay in work for personal and
financial reasons IRS journal Equal Opportunities Review looks
at the findings of new research from the Department for Work and
Pensions.
Older workers are in good
shape IRS journal Occupational Health Review looks at the findings of
new research from the Health and Safety Laboratory, which finds that older
workers are not less healthy and do no take more sick leave than other
staff.
