Older brokers will get new employment rights under government proposals unveiled today that outlaw age discrimination.
The "anti-ageism" measures announced today by Trade and Industry Secretary, Patricia Hewitt, will make it unlawful to advertise jobs as being open only to young people.
Discrimination on the grounds of age in promotion and training will be outlawed. Workers aged over 65 will also be able to claim unfair dismissal or demand full redundancy in certain cases.
Hewitt has stopped short of setting the retirement age at 70. Speaking to Insurancetimes.co.uk trade union Unifi said it had feared such a proposal would encourage firms to delay brokers' entitlement to company pension schemes until they reach 70.
A Biba spokeswoman welcomed the proposal. She said: "This is generally a good move. The expertise required in the broking profession can only be gained with experience. Anything which encourages the most competent members of our industry to work longer must be welcomed."
The Employers' Forum on Age (EFA) warned that the measures could cost businesses up to £200m in compensation payouts. The EFA's Sam Mercer said US firms had to pay out huge sums since the introduction of anti-discrimination laws.
