age discrimination in the provision of goods, services and
facilities
The ban on age discrimination in the provision of goods,
services and facilities will come into force on 1 October 2012. The
ban was originally intended to come into force in April 2012, but
implementation was delayed to allow the UK Government further time
to consider exemptions from the ban.
With some exceptions, it will apply to any person or
organisation that is:
- providing (or refusing to provide) goods, facilities or
services to another
- carrying out (or refusing to carry out) a public function for
another
- running an “association” like a private members club.
The law is focused on banning potentially harmful discriminatory
behaviour including:
- direct discrimination - where someone is unfairly treated in
comparison with another
- indirect discrimination - where a rule or practice applies to
everyone, but puts a particular group of people at a
disadvantage
- harassment - unwanted conduct which violates a person’s dignity
or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or
offensive environment for that person
- victimisation - where someone who has made a complaint of
discrimination or harassment or supported someone else’s complaint
is treated unfairly.
The ban in relation to the provision of goods, services and
facilities will only protect persons aged 18 and over. This means
that organisations can continue to provide different services at
different rates and on different terms to children of different
ages, and can refuse to admit or serve children altogether.
The ban, which will be brought into force under the Equality Act
2010, will contain a limited number of exemptions which
organisations may be able to rely upon. In addition, organisations
can take "positive action" to meet the needs of, or to prevent or
compensate for disadvantage suffered by, a particular age
group.
There will be a general exemption to the ban which will allow
organisations to engage in practices which would otherwise be
discriminatory if the organisation can show that those practices
are a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim and that
there is no fairer way of achieving the desired outcome. Government
guidance suggests that the types of practices which may benefit
from this exemption are practices which are socially positive or
generally in the public interest rather than for purely for
commercial reasons. A practice which benefits a business
commercially without wider social benefits is unlikely to fall
within the exemption.
There will also be a limited number of specific exemptions to
the ban. These include:
- financial service providers will be able to use age to assess
risk when providing financial services, provided that the risk
assessment is based on relevant and reliable information
- giving concessions to members of a particular age group will be
allowed (eg cheaper deals for students or pensioners)
- clubs and associations which cater for particular age groups
will be allowed
- holiday providers will be allowed to provide holidays for
members of particular age groups (eg 18-30 holidays)
- age verification schemes where a retailer asks for proof of age
before selling an age restricted product (eg alcohol or fireworks)
will be permitted
- residential park homes will be able to include age limits in
their park admission rules. Age-restricted sports teams and
competitions will be permitted (eg under 18s football teams)
- age limits set out in legislation that allows or requires
people to be treated differently because of their age will also be
unaffected.
Most organisations will already be running their business in
line with the new law given that the updated rules dealing with
sex, race, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief and
discrimination came into force in October 2010 and will not need to
make any specific changes to achieve compliance with the ban on age
discrimination.
However, it would be sensible for all organisations to carry out
a review to establish what, if any, age related practices and
policies might need to be amended to ensure compliance with the new
rules before they come into force. If those practices and policies
do not benefit from the positive action provision, the general
exemption or any of the specific exemptions, they will need to be
changed before 1 October 2012.
