ABSTRACT
The Equality Act 2010 contains provisions to protect workers from discrimination with regard to nine possible grounds. These grounds of discrimination are known as protected characteristics. People of all ages can suffer from age discrimination, but it appears to manifest itself mostly in discrimination against older people and young people. Article 4 provides for the possibility that a difference of treatment may be justified where there is ‘a genuine and determining occupational requirement, provided that the objective is legitimate and the requirement is proportionate’. The Equality Act 2010, as with the other protected characteristics, makes direct discrimination, indirect discrimination, harassment and victimisation on the characteristic of age unlawful. The most striking feature of the Equality Act in relation to age is the number of exceptions to the general principle of non-discrimination that exist.
