Employment (Age Discrimination in Advertisements) Bill

House of Commons

Session 1997-98
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Employment (Age Discrimination in Advertisements) Bill

This is the text of the Employment (Age Discrimination in Advertisements) Bill, as passed by the House of Lords and introduced in the House of Commons and printed on 14 January 1998.

Employment (Age Discrimination in Advertisements) Bill

ARRANGEMENT OF CLAUSES

Clause

1. Publication of advertisements.

2. Exemptions.

3. Enforcement.

4. Regulations.

5. Procedure and time limits for making complaints.

6. Liability of employers, principals and corporate bodies.

7. Application to Crown.

8. Application to Parliament.

9. Codes of Practice prepared by the Secretary of State.

10. Interpretation.

11. Short title and commencement.

A
B I L L
TO
Prohibit discrimination on the basis of age in the advertising of employment vacancies.
BE IT ENACTED by the Queen's most Excellent Majesty, by and with the advice and consent of the Lords Spiritual and Temporal, and Commons, in this present Parliament assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:-

Publication of advertisements.     1. - (1) Subject to section 2 below, it is unlawful to publish or cause to be published in Great Britain an advertisement for employment or contract for services which specifies an actual or preferred age or age range in relation to a job or contract unless the insertion of the same in an advertisement can be shown to be justifiable on grounds irrespective of age.

    (2) For the purposes of this section, use of a word or term which implies an actual or preferred age or age range shall be taken to imply the same unless the advertisement contains an indication to the contrary.

    (3) The publisher of an advertisement made unlawful by subsection (1) above shall not be subject to any liability in respect of the publication of the advertisement if he proves that the advertisement was published in reliance on a statement made to him by the person who caused it to be published to the effect that the publication would not be unlawful by reason of the operation of Section 1(1) Section 2(1) or Section 7(4) of this Act, and that it was reasonable for him to rely on the statement.

    (4) Any person who knowingly or recklessly makes a statement such as is referred to in subsection (3) above which in a material respect is false or misleading commits an offence, and shall be liable on summary conviction to a fine not exceeding level 5 on the standard scale.

Exemptions.     2. - (1) Nothing in this Act shall render unlawful the specification of an actual or preferred age or age range where it can be shown that insertion of the same in an advertisement is a genuine occupational qualification for the job.

    (2) For the purpose of this section specification of an actual or preferred age or age range shall be a genuine occupational qualification only where-

(a) the essential nature of the job calls for a person of a specific age or age range for reasons of physiology (excluding physical strength or stamina) or in dramatic performances or other entertainment, for reasons of authenticity, so that the essential nature of the job would be materially different if carried out by a person whose age does not fall within that specified in the advertisement; or

(b) the job needs to be held by a person of a certain age or age range because of restrictions imposed by the laws regulating certain occupations or appointments.

Enforcement.     3. - (1) A complaint that there has been a breach of this Act by any person who has suffered detriment may be presented to an industrial tribunal.

    (2) Where an industrial tribunal finds that a complaint presented to it under this section is well-founded, it shall take such of the following steps as it considers just and equitable-

(a) making a declaration as to the rights of the complainant and the respondent in relation to the matters to which the complaint relates;

(b) ordering the respondent to pay compensation to the complainant; and

(c) recommending that the respondent take, within a specified period, action appearing to the tribunal to be reasonable, in all the circumstances of the case, for the purpose of obviating or reducing the adverse effect on the complainant of any matter to which the complaint relates.

    (3) Where a tribunal orders compensation under subsection (2)(b) the amount of the compensation shall be calculated by applying the principles applicable to the calculation of damages in claims in tort or, in Scotland, in reparation for breach of statutory duty.

    (4) For the avoidance of doubt it is hereby declared that compensation ordered under subsection (2)(b) above may include compensation for injury to feelings whether or not they include compensation under any other head.

Regulations.     4. - (1) Regulations may make provision-

(a) in relation to enforcement and procedure;

(b) enabling a tribunal, where an amount of compensation falls to be awarded under section 3(2)(b), to include in the award interest on that amount in the event of delayed payment; and

(c) prescribing a maximum amount which may be awarded as compensation for injury to feelings in any proceedings under section 3.

    (2) No Regulations shall be made under this section unless a draft has been laid before Parliament and approved by a resolution of each House.

Procedure and time limits for making complaints.     5. - (1) An industrial tribunal shall not consider a complaint under section 3 unless it is presented before the end of the period of three months beginning when the advertisement complained of was published.

    (2) A tribunal may consider any such complaint which is out of time, if, in all the circumstances, it considers that it is just and equitable to do so.

Liability of employers, principals and corporate bodies.     6. - (1) Anything done by a person in the course of his employment shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as done by his employer as well as by him, whether or not it was done with the employer's knowledge or approval.

    (2) Anything done by a person as agent for another person with the authority (whether express or implied and whether precedent or subsequent) of that person shall be treated for the purposes of this Act as done by that person as well as by him.

    (3) Where an unlawful act under this Act is committed by a body corporate or by a person purporting to act on behalf of a body corporate or an unincorporated body of persons and is proved to have been committed with the consent or approval of, or to have been facilitated by any neglect on the part of, any person, who when the offence is committed is a director, member of the committee of management or other controlling authority of the body concerned, or the manager, secretary or other officer of the body, that person shall also be deemed to have committed the unlawful act and may be proceeded against accordingly

Application to Crown.     7. - (1) This Act applies-

(a) to an act done by or for purposes of a minister of the Crown or government department, or

(b) to an act done on behalf of the Crown by a statutory body, or a person holding a statutory office,

as it applies to an act done by a private person.

    (2) The provisions of Parts II to IV of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 apply to proceedings against the Crown under this Act as they apply to Crown proceedings in England and Wales; but section 20 of that Act (removal of proceedings from County to High Court) does not apply.

    (3) The provisions of Part V of the Crown Proceedings Act 1947 apply to proceedings against the Crown under this Act as they apply to Crown proceedings in Scotland which by virtue of that Part are treated as civil proceedings by or against the Crown but the proviso to section 44 of that Act (removal of proceedings from the sheriff court to the Court of Session) does not apply.

    (4) Nothing in this Act shall render unlawful an act done for the purpose of ensuring the combat effectiveness of the naval, military or air forces of the Crown.

    (5) In this section "statutory body" means a body set up by or in pursuance of an enactment and "statutory office" means an office so set up.

Application to Parliament.     8. This Act applies to an act done by or for purposes of the House of Lords or the House of Commons as it applies to an act done by a private person.

Codes of Practice prepared by the Secretary of State.     9. - (1) The Secretary of State may issue codes of practice containing such practical guidance as he considers appropriate with a view to encouraging good practice in relation to considerations of age in advertisements for employment or contract for services.

    (2) The Secretary of State may from time to time revise the whole or any part of a code and re-issue it.

    (3) A code is admissible in evidence in any proceedings under this Act.

    (4) If any provision of a code appears to a tribunal or court to be relevant to any question arising in any proceedings under this Act, it shall be taken into account in determining that question.

    (5) A failure on the part of any person to observe any provision of a code does not of itself make that person liable to any proceedings.

    (6) In this section "code" means a code issued by the Secretary of State under this section and includes a code which has been revised and re-issued.

Interpretation.     10. In this Act, unless the context otherwise requires-

"advertisement" includes every form of advertisement whether to the public or not, and whether in a newspaper or other publication, by television or radio or electronic mail, by display of notices, signs, labels, showcards or goods, other material, by exhibition of pictures, or films, or in any other way, and references to the publishing of advertisements shall be construed accordingly;

"employment" means employment under a contract of service or of apprenticeship or a contract personally to execute any work or labour, and related expressions shall be construed accordingly;

"person who has suffered detriment" means any person whose age is other than the age specified either expressly or impliedly in the advertisement and who wishes to apply for the job advertised.

Short title and commencement.     11. - (1) This Act may be cited as the Employment (Age Discrimination in Advertisements) Act 1998.

    (2) This Act shall come into force at the end of the period of three months beginning with the day on which it is passed.

© Parliamentary copyright 1997
Prepared 15 January 1998