Age: Discrimination
(asked on 5th June 2014) - View Source
Question to the Department for Work and Pensions:
To ask the Secretary of State for Work and Pensions, what recent research his Department has (a) commissioned and (b) evaluated relating to age discrimination in (i) the work place and (ii) Jobcentre Plus.
The Department has not commissioned any research in the last two years specifically on age discrimination.
(i) Previous research relating to age discrimination in the work place includes 'Attitudes to age in Britain 2010/11' – https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/214361/ihr7.pdf
and 'Second Survey on employers' policies, practices and preferences relating to age, 2010' – http://webarchive.nationalarchives.gov.uk/20130128102031/http://research.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2009-2010/rrep682.pdf
This research was commissioned by the Department as part of wider research into the removal of the Default Retirement Age, including ‘Default Retirement Age – employer qualitative research' –
The Default Retirement Age was abolished in 2011, meaning most people can now retire when the time is right for them. Employers can now only set a fixed retirement age where it can be objectively justified in their particular circumstances, but this is open to challenge at tribunal.
On 13 June we will be publishing ‘Fuller Working Lives – A Framework for Action'. The document outlines the business case for people to work longer at an individual, business, societal and economic level, and sets out a number of new actions the Department will be taking forward to promote fuller working lives.
(ii) Relevant Departmental evaluations on this issue concerning Jobcentre Plus include 'How ready is Jobcentre Plus to help people in their 60s to find work?' – https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/how-ready-is-jobcentre-plus-to-help-people-in-their-60s-find-work-ihr11 .
Also, where possible surveys of benefit claimants are broken down by age, for example 'The Jobcentre Plus Offer: Final evaluation report' – https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/261656/rrep852.pdf.