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Small businesses are not preparing themselves for the new Age Discrimination Laws which come into law on 1st October.
According to a survey by the British Chamber of Commerce and the Employers forum on Ageing.
While most knew that new employment regulations were due to come into force in October 2006, less than a quarter knew they included rules against age discrimination.
Sam Mercer, director of the EFA, said: "Small businesses cannot afford to ignore these laws. People of all ages will be protected and this could lead to a huge increase in discrimination claims."
The new legislation comes into force on October 1, carrying the same weight as earlier laws on gender, race, disability and sexual orientation.
It requires employers to change policies and practices in recruitment, selection, training, appraisal, redundancy and retirement.
The need to avoid age discrimination in recruitment was also expected to raise difficulties for small businesses, said Lewis Sidnick of the BCC, because they did not have human resources departments to handle discrimination issues.
"They have been swamped by employment legislation and they recruit people very infrequently. They are going to find that things they have taken for granted have to be revised - even if they are in a hurry to fill a vacancy."
"This has the potential to be a real minefield for businesses" said David Tewkesbury, Director at Partnered Solutions.
"This new legislation places clear responsibility on the employer to provide positive support and outlaw age discrimination in the workplace.
Complications will include recruitment, retirement and even language. We strongly believe that our Age Discrimination workshops and days will help answer the questions most businesses will have and will equip them for the Act coming into law on 1st October."
For more details about our Age Discrimination sessions, please 'Contact Us' or email
info@partnered-solutions.com
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