Information & advice

It’s not just people who are employed who will benefit from the age legislation. People in education and training are protected too, as course providers are not allowed to discriminate on the grounds of age. 

This includes:

• all adult learning
• further education
• higher education (including university courses)
• other training that provides skills relevant for work. 
• training provided by employers and organisations on their behalf

As with employment, both direct and indirect discrimination are unlawful, unless the course provider can justify the discrimination. Victimisation and harassment on the grounds of age are also unlawful.

A course provider must provide courses to people of all ages on the same terms (again, unless this can be justified or is covered by an exemption). 

Course providers can set age limits for admission to a course if they can show this is covered by the positive action exemption. They would have to show that the age restriction is expected to compensate for disadvantages experienced by people in the age group at which the course is aimed. 

For example…

An IT course restricted to people over 60 would be lawful if it could be shown that people over 60 face a disadvantage in that area of work, and that the age restriction for admission to the course was expected to compensate for this disadvantage.

Free mini-guide to age discrimination at work

You can download all the information in this section in our mini-guide to age discrimination, or you can order a copy  from our freephone Information Line on 0800 00 99 66.

Find out more about the age discrimination law
 

 

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