If you feel you are experiencing age-related discrimination then you should make a formal complaint using your company’s grievance procedure. You have a legal right to be accompanied by a work colleague or a trade union official. You will need to support your case by providing specific examples of where you feel discrimination has taken place, so you should keep a record of instances, and when they occurred.
If you can’t resolve things with your employer you can make a claim to an employment tribunal. As with other employment discrimination complaints, you need to make a claim within 3 months of the act of discrimination you are complaining about.
You may submit a detailed questionnaire to your employer about their actions. If your employer fails to respond, or responds evasively, the employment tribunal may draw appropriate inferences. Once you have provided enough initial evidence of age discrimination it is up to the employer to show that they have not broken the law.
For claims made before 4 July 2009, based partly or completely on events which took place before 6 April 2009, you must have followed the statutory grievance procedure first, giving your employer 28 days to respond. Otherwise, the employment tribunal may refuse to hear your claim. This will no longer apply to claims lodged from 4 July 2009.
You should always seek individual legal advice before making a claim. Talk to your union, if you are a member, to get an expert opinion on your case.
