You will be protected under the age regulations against any workplace harassment because of your age. Harassment is defined as any unwanted conduct that violates your dignity or creates an intimidating, hostile, degrading, humiliating or offensive environment for you. So if a colleague repeatedly taunts you for being ‘an ugly old wrinkly’, you would have a claim against them and your employer, which could include damages for injury to feelings. Equally, for example, young workers may have a claim where they have been subjected to degrading workplace ‘initiation rites’. Conduct will not be unlawful if in all the circumstances it would not be reasonable to view it as harassment. But your view as the complainant must be given particular weight in any assessment of what is, or is not, harassment.
