Source · Select Committees · Women and Equalities Committee
Recommendation 8
8
Rejected
Commission EHRC to review effectiveness of age discrimination protections in Equality Act.
Recommendation
We recommend the Government commission and fund the Equality and Human Rights Commission to review the effectiveness of protections against age discrimination provided by the Equality Act and Public Sector Equality Duty in England, including but not limited to consideration of: • the implications for older people’s rights, and the enforceability of those rights, of allowing objective justification of direct discrimination based on age, and the likely impacts of replacing objective justification with specific exceptions, if required; • the extent to which the Public Sector Equality Duty in England effectively promotes progress on older people rights in areas including access to healthcare, housing, transport, and digital inclusion, and the case for more specific positive duties to drive progress; • the case for amending the Equality Act in relation to employment discrimination based on age, to bring in a stronger “reasonable steps” duty on employers; and 49 • options to amend the Equality Act to reflect the intersectional nature of age discrimination more effectively, including but not limited to commencement of section 14 on dual characteristics. (Recommendation, Paragraph 95) Government focus and wider governance framework
Government Response Summary
The government rejects commissioning and funding the EHRC for a review on age discrimination protections, stating it is for the EHRC to allocate its own resources. It highlights existing strong protections in the Equality Act and other government actions for older people.
Government Response
Rejected
HM Government
Rejected
This government is clear on the importance of protections against age discrimination. The Equality Act 2010 contains strong protections for older people in a variety of settings, including work and the provision of services. As an independent Non-Departmental Public Body, it is for the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to decide on the allocation of its resources within its funding envelope. On 26 March 2025, the EHRC published its Strategic Plan for 2025- 2028 which sets out how the Commission will prioritise their work, promote and protect equality and human rights and respond to new challenges over the next three years. Under Pillar 1 of the plan they will seek to ‘Improve compliance with the Public Sector Equality Duty (PSED) [and] will undertake a programme of monitoring and engagement to increase compliance’. Compliance with PSED requires those subject to the duty to recognise and take account of all protected characteristics, including age. The Equality Advisory and Support Service is a government commissioned and funded helpline that provides free advice and support to individuals in England, Scotland, and Wales on issues relating to equality and human rights. In 2022 age related cases accounted for 3.15% of the total of over 48,000 contacts to the service. In 2023, age related cases represented 3.39% of the total of over 60,000 contacts to the service and in 2024, this remained broadly the same with age related cases representing 3.02% of the total of over 50,000 contacts to the service. We are committed to strengthening protections against discrimination by bringing the combined discrimination provision at section 14 of the Equality Act 2010 into force. People hold multiple protected characteristics and it is clear that some people experience discrimination due to a combination of these, in some cases including age. For example, some women experiencing the menopause may be treated less favourably by an employer or service provider because of a particular combination of protected characteristics, such as age, disability and sex. We are engaging with the EHRC and other stakeholders as we explore how best to commence the combined discrimination provision to address this long-standing gap in the law. Another example of work the government is currently undertaking to support older people in a variety of different ways include supporting older women in work. Women aged 50 and over are one of the fastest growing labour market cohorts:1 In the 12 months up to November 2024, the rate of economic activity amongst females aged 65+ increased by 8% which is more than any other age group for females and males.2 Economic activity amongst females aged 65+ more than doubled between 2004 and 2024, from 3.9% to 9.3% (an increase of 136%). This is greater than the increase in economic activity amongst males of the same age (increasing by 76% from 8.7% in 2004 to 15.3% in 2024). For those older women in work, we are taking the first steps towards legally requiring large employers to publish action plans alongside their gender pay gap figures; detailing the steps they are taking to narrow their gap and support employees during the menopause. The government has also committed to publishing guidance, including for small employers, on measures to support employees going through the menopause, including consideration relating to uniform and temperature, flexible working and recording menopause-related leave and absence. We are also improving flexible working, parental leave and childcare policies to provide more flexible options for families across generations. Alongside this, a public consultation on disability and ethnicity pay gap reporting was launched on 18 March 2025. This will also help us further understand the impact on older people with other protected characteristics.