By John Sprack

THE AGE OF RIGHTS

Reviewed by Phillip Taylor MBE, LL.B (Hons) Barrister-at-Law

The Age Discrimination Regulations have generated enormous interest, probably because they will affect so many people (including me). They have triggered a radical culture change which will affect both employers and employees.

John Sprack has produced one of the first legal guides on regulations rather than statutes which will be valued not just by legal advisers but those in human resources, business and commerce because of its wide appeal and relevance, delivered in his customary crisp writing style which many of us will remember from the Bar Vocational Course and the training courses in employment law which he delivers. I have no doubt that there will be more guides to Regulations which spring from Council Directives and they are much needed.

This is a highly practical book, simple yet informative in style, which investigates the Directive's changes with clarity. John Sprack, whom many readers will know from his time as a tutor at the Inns of Court School of Law, details exactly how to avoid discrimination under the new regime and gives the full text of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, and the original European Directive 2000/78/EC on which these Regulations are founded.

It is clear that we are going to get more books of this nature in the future as Directives become part of British law (without, anti-EU critics will argue, much debate – but they would say that, wouldn't they). However, if one views the passage of the Regulations carefully, considerable consultation has taken place on what continues to be a thorny 'ageist' issue to some, and a welcome reprieve for others.

When Do the Regulations Apply?

The timetable has been exact which makes a welcome change for the passage of Directives, with draft Regulations published in July 2005, final drafts in March 2006 and a commencement date of 1st October 2006 thus meeting the extended deadline which had been set. The book:

• Enables practitioners to determine whether an organisation's recruitment practices discriminate on the ground of age;
• Provides the information legal advisers will now require when preparing, pursuing and defending claims of age discrimination;
• Demonstrates exactly what constitutes discrimination under the new regulations;
• Includes the Regulations, the original Directive and the ACAS guide for employers entitled "Age and the Workplace"; and
• Describes the effect of the regulations on pay, benefits, pensions, retirement and dismissal.

Content of the book

This book is highly useful to legal practitioners and also those involved in all aspects of human resources because:

• It clearly sets out how employers can avoid age discrimination;
• It determines whether an organisation's staff recruitment and retention policies discriminate;
• It enables legal advisers to spot employment practices (both everyday and strategic) that discriminate, and how to take effective action to eliminate them; and
• It contains the information legal advisers need when advising on, preparing, pursuing and defending claims involving unfair discrimination as it affects age.

John Sprack is an excellent training course deliverer in the field of employment law and is currently a part-time Chairman of Employment Tribunals. Sprack's essential new employment law title gives the reader from whatever background a crisp analysis and commentary together with practical guidance and know-how which the human resources director will find invaluable: it is clearly of great benefit to all and a useful friend for those in personnel, or workers facing some of the difficulties of a possible tribunal hearing. Structure of the book

One thing I found most helpful with this book was the way it is structured. The usual suspects are present with a concise preface and introduction and 150 pages of annexes to cover the regulations.

However, it is the first twelve chapters which are the most exhilarating, when Sprack reviews some of the following areas which the regulations and directive cover: what constitutes age discrimination; scope of the protection; justification and exceptions; recruitment and selection; terms and conditions; retirement and dismissal; pension schemes; changes to other legislation; enforcement; and remedies.

Comments on DTI Explanatory Notes

For those new to the Regulations, when they were finalised, the Department for Trade and Industry (DTI) published extensive Explanatory Notes to accompany them. For the most part, the notes were in a summary form as a simple explanation of what was contained within the Regulations.

The DTI also put forward reasons why the government believes that the Regulations implement the Directive, and they do provide some assistance on the issue of interpretation to those readers lucky enough (?) to find a brief in the clerks' room after 1st October 2006 where age is in issue.

What Sprack gives you here is a citation of the Explanatory Notes which forms part of his overall commentary on what the Regulations will mean to those faced with a tribunal hearing taken from the original civil service interpretations of the Directive which can sometimes be more difficult to understand even for hardened practitioners.

I felt the two most important chapters were chapter six (recruitment) with the special device of 'Danger points' which Sprack identifies where the employer could fall foul of the Regulations, and chapter 11 (enforcement) which is the crunch area for legal advisers covering the burden of proof, questionnaires and time limits. Appendix 3, entitled 'ACAS Age and the Workplace' actually covers much more than the title implies with guidance to employers and employees and twelve annexes which will [be] highly beneficial to human resources managers and practitioners involved in Employment Tribunal Work.

So there is something for everyone with practical guidance for the initiated at a sensible price for the cash-strapped executive or legal aid/pro bono lawyer.

The Barrister, Oct-Dec 2006