"The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, which implement the Framework Directive on Equal Treatment and Occupation, take effect in October 2006. Tackling age discrimination is seen to be a means of achieving a more diverse workforce, yet in trying to achieve this objective there have been compromises with the principle of non-discrimination. During the consultation exercises preceding the Regulations there have been important differences of approach between employers and trade unions. The Government has, mostly, adopted the approach supported by employers. The result is a set of Regulations, which, although an important step forward in tackling age discrimination, have numbers of exceptions which effectively legitimise some aspects of age discrimination at work. "

Support: Paper