Age

Provisions in relation to Age (Section 5)

The Act protects people of all ages from unlawful discrimination. It is important to note that this is the only protected characteristic where direct discrimination may be justified, but employers may only be able to justify differential treatment on the grounds of age if they can demonstrate that the different treatment is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

Age is defined in the Act by reference to a person's age group. When the Act refers to people who share a protected characteristic it means that they are in the same age group.

An age group can mean people of the same age or people of a range of ages. Age groups can be wide (for example, 'people under 50'; 'under 18s'), They can also be quite narrow (for example, 'people in their mid-40s'; 'people born in 1952'). Age groups may also be relative (for example, 'older than me' or 'older than us').

Further information is available on the Government Equalities Office website here.