Social care employers ready to embrace laws to confront age discrimination

New regulations should hold few fears for the social care sector but will not tackle the apparent age bias in the distribution of resources, writes Mithran Samuel

From this week, social care staff will be protected from age discrimination or harassment in employment or training, with the implementation of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. Though the regulations seek to stamp out age discrimination against young or old, they are more likely to benefit people older than 50, an age group disproportionately represented in social care (see Age profile of council social care workers).

The readiness of social care employers to meet the changes was mostly endorsed in a report in August commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions.

It found nearly 90 per cent of social care employers had equal opportunities policies that mentioned age compared with 56 per cent in the workforce generally.

But in some areas social care employers risked age discrimination – nearly half collected information on age in job application forms and passed this on to shortlisters and interviewers, compared with 35 per cent of all employers.

This is not specifically banned by the new regulations but could be cited as evidence by an employee bringing a discrimination claim, and is seen as poor practice by experts such as employment relations body the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

The DWP-commissioned report was based on a survey carried out in spring 2005, nearly a year before the regulations were even published. A lot could have changed since then.

Martin Green (pictured), head of the English Community Care Association, which represents independent sector care homes, believes social care employers are ready to implement the new laws. He says, in order to counter social care’s historic recruitment and retention problems, employers have sought to widen its labour pool, making age  discrimination less likely.

Council employers body Local Government Employers has produced a “readiness assessment” on implementing the regulations, and is also advising councils to appoint an age champion as the leader.

Joan Seaton, senior manager for workforce advice at LGE, says councils are ahead of the game in terms of implementation.

Under the new rules employers are allowed to take “positive action” to “prevent or compensate for disadvantages linked to age”, and Seaton encourages councils to take advantage of this to attract younger staff.

The regulations do not ban age discrimination in the provision of goods and services.

Green says this is a more significant issue in the sector than employment discrimination, given the disparities in council spending on older people and 18- to 64-year-olds.

He says: “What we need is legislation that exposes the huge age discrimination in the distribution of resources in the health and social care system.”

This is being considered as part of the government’s current discrimination law review with strong hints from ministers that they will extend the ban to goods and services as part of a single equality bill planned for this parliament.

Age profile of council social care workersNew regulations should hold few fears for the social care sector but will not tackle the apparent age bias in the distribution of resources, writes Mithran Samuel

From this week, social care staff will be protected from age discrimination or harassment in employment or training, with the
implementation of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006. Though the regulations seek to stamp out age discrimination against young or old, they are more likely to benefit people older than 50, an age group disproportionately represented in social care (see Age profile of council social care workers).

The readiness of social care employers to meet the changes was mostly endorsed in a report in August commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions.

It found nearly 90 per cent of social care employers had equal opportunities policies that mentioned age compared with 56 per
cent in the workforce generally.

But in some areas social care employers risked age discrimination – nearly half collected information on age in job application forms and passed this on to shortlisters and interviewers, compared with 35 per cent of all employers.

This is not specifically banned by the new regulations but could be cited as evidence by an employee bringing a discrimination claim, and is seen as poor practice by experts such as employment relations body the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.

The DWP-commissioned report was based on a survey carried out in spring 2005, nearly a year before the regulations were even published. A lot could have changed since then.

Martin Green, head of the English Community Care Association, which represents independent sector care homes, believes social care employers are ready to implement the new laws. He says, in order to counter social care’s historic recruitment and retention problems, employers have sought to widen its labour pool, making age  discrimination less likely.

Council employers body Local Government Employers has produced a “readiness assessment” on implementing the regulations, and is
also advising councils to appoint an age champion as the leader.

Joan Seaton, senior manager for workforce advice at LGE, says councils are ahead of the game in terms of implementation.

Under the new rules employers are allowed to take “positive action” to “prevent or compensate for disadvantages linked to age”, and Seaton encourages councils to take advantage of this to attract younger staff.

The regulations do not ban age discrimination in the provision of goods and services.

Green says this is a more significant issue in the sector than employment discrimination, given the disparities in council spending on older people and 18- to 64-year-olds.

He says: “What we need is legislation that exposes the huge age discrimination in the distribution of resources in the health and social care system.”

This is being considered as part of the government’s current discrimination law review with strong hints from ministers that they will extend the ban to goods and services as part of a single equality bill planned for this parliament.

Age profile of council social care workers
● The government’s Labour Force Survey found that 26 per cent of the total UK workforce was over 50 in 2004.
● The local government social care workforce survey for 2005, published this year, found proportions of over-50s ranged from 25 to 47 per cent among different
occupational groups.
● It was 28 per cent for children’s social workers, 37 per cent for adult social workers and 47 per cent for home care staff and organisers.
 
● Managing an Ageing Workforce in Health and Social Care
● For a digest of the regulations

Contact the author
mithran.samuel@rbi.co.uk