Age Discrimination in the Workplace

Age discrimination in the workplace can affect employees at any stage of their career. You do not have to be approaching retirement to experience it. Some employees are sidelined because colleagues consider them too old to adapt. Others are pushed out because a new manager wants a younger team. Either way, the impact on your livelihood and confidence can be severe.

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Age Discrimination Lawyers

Age is a protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010. Treating you less favourably because of your age is unlawful. Despite this, age discrimination remains one of the most widespread and underreported forms of workplace discrimination in the UK.

If your employer has offered you a settlement agreement in connection with age discrimination, do not sign anything until you have taken specialist legal advice. Our employment solicitors can assess the strength of your claim, advise on what it is worth and negotiate a better outcome on your behalf.

At Settlement Agreement Advice, our age discrimination lawyers work with employees across England and Wales who have been treated unfairly at work because of their age. Claims can arise at any point in employment, from recruitment through to redundancy and dismissal. Age discrimination can affect workers in their twenties just as much as those in their fifties or sixties.

You may have a legal claim if you have experienced:

  • Being overlooked for promotion because of assumptions about your age
  • Redundancy selection that targeted older or younger workers
  • Pressure to retire or accept a reduced role as you approached a certain age
  • Dismissal framed as performance-related but driven by age-based assumptions
  • Comments or behaviour from managers or colleagues that demeaned you because of your age
  • Exclusion from training, projects or development opportunities available to colleagues of a different age
  • A pay award, bonus or benefit lower than colleagues of a different age doing equivalent work
  • A settlement agreement offered shortly after raising concerns about your treatment

If your situation involves any of these, we can assess whether you have a claim and advise on the most effective way to proceed.

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What Is Age Discrimination in the Workplace?

Age discrimination in the workplace is unlawful under the Equality Act 2010. Age is a protected characteristic that covers employees of all ages. You cannot lawfully be treated less favourably because of your age, your perceived age or assumptions linked to a particular age group.

Age is unique among protected characteristics. In limited circumstances, an employer can attempt to justify direct age discrimination if it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. Whether a justification defence is likely to succeed in your case is something our solicitors can advise on.

What is Direct Age Discrimination?

Direct age discrimination means being treated less favourably than someone of a different age in comparable circumstances. It includes decisions based on assumptions about energy, reliability or ambition that are tied to age rather than actual performance.

What is Indirect Age Discrimination?

Indirect age discrimination arises when a workplace rule or practice applies to everyone but disadvantages a particular age group. That disadvantage must not be capable of objective justification. Redundancy scoring systems and mandatory qualification thresholds are common examples.

What is Age-Related Harassment?

Age-related harassment is unwanted conduct connected to age that violates your dignity or creates a hostile, degrading or offensive working environment. Persistent comments about retirement or being past your best can both constitute harassment.

What is Victimisation?

Victimisation occurs when an employee is treated unfairly for making or supporting a complaint about age discrimination. It is unlawful regardless of whether the original complaint is upheld.

Forced Retirement

There is no default retirement age in the UK. Requiring an employee to retire because of their age is unlawful in most circumstances. Pressure to retire will often amount to constructive or unfair dismissal as well as age discrimination.

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2026 Legal Updates: What Age Discrimination Claimants Should Know

Several legal developments in 2026 are directly relevant to employees considering an age discrimination claim.

Increased Injury to Feelings Awards

From 6 April 2026, the Vento bands used to calculate injury to feelings awards have increased. The upper band now reaches £62,900 for the most serious cases. Exceptional cases can exceed that figure. For employees who have experienced prolonged or particularly damaging age discrimination, this represents a meaningful increase in the potential value of a claim. Our solicitors can advise how this affects your settlement agreement.

Employment Rights Act 2025

The Employment Rights Act 2025 brings significant changes to dismissal and redundancy rights. A number of provisions are particularly relevant to older workers targeted in restructuring exercises. Further reforms are expected in 2027.

Day One Rights

While protection from age discrimination has always applied from your very first day at work (and even during recruitment), the Employment Rights Act 2025 closes loopholes that employers may have attempted to exploit. Previously, employers might have tried to dismiss a new starter under the guise of ‘short service’ to hide underlying age discrimination. With the overhaul of qualifying periods for unfair dismissal, employers face much stricter tribunal scrutiny from day one, significantly strengthening your leverage in a settlement negotiation.

Redundancy and Age-Neutral Selection

Tribunal scrutiny of redundancy selection processes has intensified. Employers must demonstrate that selection criteria are genuinely age-neutral. Where criteria produce disparate outcomes for particular age groups, objective justification is required. Weaknesses in a redundancy process can significantly strengthen an age discrimination claim.

Pension and Retirement Age Considerations

Where an employer’s treatment of you appears connected to your proximity to pension age or a desire to reduce pension liabilities, this can form a significant part of a wider age discrimination or constructive dismissal claim.

At Settlement Agreement Advice, our employment solicitors can advise on how all of these developments apply to your specific circumstances.

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Common Examples of Age Discrimination at Work

Our age discrimination solicitors regularly advise employees on situations including:

  • Redundancy processes where older workers were disproportionately selected using criteria that were not genuinely age-neutral
  • Dismissals dressed up as capability or performance issues, but driven by a desire to bring in younger staff
  • Employees in their fifties or sixties being managed out through sustained pressure, negative reviews or the removal of responsibilities
  • Younger employees passed over for promotion despite strong performance, based on age rather than ability
  • Age-related comments becoming a persistent feature of the working environment without management intervention
  • Employees returning from ill health finding their role restructured in ways that disadvantage them relative to younger colleagues
  • A settlement agreement offered immediately after a grievance about age-related treatment is raised

If your experience matches any of these, we can advise on your legal position and whether any settlement offer reflects the true value of your claim.

Settlement Agreements and Age Discrimination

Employers frequently use settlement agreements to resolve age discrimination disputes before they reach a tribunal. While this can be a practical outcome, it is important to understand what you are giving up and whether the offer properly reflects the value of your claim.

A settlement agreement is a legally binding contract. You agree to waive your right to bring employment tribunal claims in exchange for a financial payment. You are required by law to receive independent legal advice before signing.

Age discrimination cases can involve losses that go well beyond immediate lost earnings. For older workers, redundancy or dismissal can have a wider financial impact than simply losing a job. Pension entitlements should be carefully considered. It can also be more difficult to find comparable employment. The long-term effect on retirement plans is another important factor when assessing any settlement offer.

At Settlement Agreement Advice, our age discrimination solicitors will:

  • Review your agreement in full
  • Advise you clearly on the strength of your legal position
  • Ensure any pension impact is properly reflected in the value of your claim
  • Negotiate an improved settlement where there is scope to do so
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Why Choose Settlement Agreement Advice?

At Settlement Agreement Advice, we specialise exclusively in employment law and settlement agreements. Every client receives focused, experienced advice rather than a generalist approach.

  • Same-day review and advice available
  • Legal fees usually covered by your employer
  • Strong track record in discrimination settlement negotiations
  • Regulated by the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA)
  • Members of the Employment Lawyers Association
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Speak to an Age Discrimination Solicitor Today

If you have experienced age discrimination in the workplace and have been offered a settlement agreement, the most important step you need to take is to get specialist advice before you sign.

Our employment solicitors are available Monday to Friday and can advise you the same day.

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Frequently Asked Questions

Is there a retirement age I can be forced to accept?

No, in almost all cases. There is no default retirement age in the UK. An employer cannot usually force you to retire because of your age. They can only do so if they have a very good reason and can show that retirement is necessary and fair. This is a high threshold. Most employers cannot meet it. If you have been pressured to retire, our solicitors can advise on your options and whether any settlement agreement offer reflects the value of your claim.

 

Can an employer ever justify age discrimination?

In limited circumstances, yes. Age is the only protected characteristic under the Equality Act 2010 where an employer can attempt to justify direct discrimination. They must show it is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. In practice, justification defences are difficult to sustain and frequently fail at tribunal. Our solicitors can assess how credible your employer’s position is likely to be.

Should my settlement agreement account for the effect on my pension?

Yes. This is frequently overlooked in initial settlement offers. For older workers, leaving employment early can affect defined benefit pension entitlements and reduce defined contribution savings. It can also bring forward the point at which retirement income is needed. Our solicitors will ensure these factors are properly considered when assessing whether a settlement agreement offer is fair.

What if I was dismissed for performance reasons, but believe my age was the real factor?

Employers do not always give the true reason for a dismissal. Performance management processes can be used to build a paper trail that obscures an underlying decision to move on older workers. We can help you assess whether the stated reason holds up on a range of bases. This could be the timing, the way targets were set or the inconsistency of treatment compared to younger colleagues suggests age was a factor.. Our unfair dismissal guidance may also be relevant to your situation.

Does age discrimination protection apply to younger workers?

Yes. The Equality Act 2010 protects employees of all ages. Younger workers treated less favourably because they are considered too inexperienced or junior, solely because of their age have the same legal protection as older workers. We advise clients across all age groups on discrimination in the workplace.

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