The IPD recently announced its support for the government’s proposed code of practice to combat age discrimination. Presumably, the institute believes that self-regulation should be given a chance before legislation is introduced.

Given the extent to which ageism is an entrenched problem, I would have thought that self-regulation has already had more than a fair chance, but it has failed to deliver.

Whether legislation is the answer depends more on how it is drafted than the power of the law in itself. Employers’ chronic dependence on age as a discriminator suggests that legislation has a part to play, as well as underlining the ineffectiveness of the laissez-faire approach.

It is clear that arguing the business case has failed to persuade employers to take appropriate action. Surely the time has come to use other methods.

Peter Naylor
Vice-president of equal opportunities, IPM