Lawyers were expecting an avalanche of claims after last October for two reasons: firstly because it's not yet clear what exactly "objective justification" means.

And secondly, because for the first time a large part of society - white, older men - have recourse to discrimination laws. (In Ireland and America which both have age discrimination legislation, they're known as "pale, stale males".)

Barry Clarke, chairman of the Employment Lawyers' Association, is expecting a busy year ahead. "I think there will be a lot of test cases.

“These regulations will force people to step back and think, how often are considerations of age influencing our expectations at work? And how many of those are based on stereotypical assumptions?"

If you think you have a complaint, try to put things right with a manager first and, failing that, go through your firm's proper grievance procedure.

If you're still not satisfied you may be able to bring a complaint to an employment tribunal under the age regulations, but only within three months of the problem. You don't have to hand in your notice.

As part of the claim you can require your employer to answer a set of questions, available from citizens advice bureaux, jobcentres or at www.dti.gov.uk See www.employmenttribunals.gov.uk for details on how to make a claim.

Unfair dismissal compensation is capped at £58,400, but there's no limit on age discrimination. Each party pays its own legal costs at a tribunal (£5-6,000 for a five-day hearing), although you can represent yourself.

This article was created: 24 July 2006.
This article was last edited: 2 January 2007.

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