The regulations will make it illegal for employers to discriminate or harass employees on grounds of age (in some cases, even on the grounds of ‘apparent age’!) from 1 October 2006.

For pension schemes, there are some specific exemptions included in the regulations but there is also scope for trustees/employers to "objectively justify" age-related practices which may otherwise be discriminatory. And this is where the problem lies – any objective justification would have to be tested in court each time and this is something that trustees and employers would obviously want to avoid.

As a result, the bits of the regulations dealing with pension provision will now not come into force until 1 December 2006. The DWP Press Release explains that the delay is designed to

"…give schemes more time to adjust to the new regulations…"

and

"…allow a short informal consultation period to assess whether any amendments are required to provide greater clarity for schemes and employers."*

Although the pensions related bits of the regulations have been postponed, we wouldn't recommend postponing the process of looking at scheme rules and practices. Trustees should seek professional legal advice now based on the current regulations so that proper review can be undertaken in time for the 1 December implementation date. Even if the regulations do change between now and December, at least they’ll have a good head start.

The Department of Trade and Industry have produced guidance on how the regulations will impact on pension schemes. Note that this is based on the regulations before the announcement to postpone/consult was made. It’s likely that this guidance will change following the end of the current consultation.