LONDON, 8 May 2006 - Water for Fish, a leading people and organisation consulting company and subsidiary of Aon Consulting, today warned businesses that they could be leaving themselves vulnerable to expensive and embarrassing legal action if they do not take steps to review their recruitment policies ahead of the introduction of the new Age Discrimination Regulations on 1 October 2006.
To coincide with Age Positive Week, which is being spearheaded by the Department for Work and Pensions to help employers prepare for the new age legislation, Water for Fish recently conducted an audit of a major national Sunday newspaper, and found that of the 75 recruitment advertisements, nearly a third (27%) would be potentially open to legal action when the new age legislation comes into force. Employment Tribunal Statistics* show that the median payout for successful discrimination claims was between £6,200 and £7,500. Failure, therefore, to comply with the looming legislation could mean companies find themselves not only running up expensive legal bills but also facing embarrassment and damage to their reputations.
Bonita Bryan, Consultant at Water for Fish, commented: “Although the age legislation does not come into force until later this year, it is worrying that nearly a third of companies are disregarding the new requirements in their recruitment drive. It would be foolish for companies to think that they can simply re-word their advertisements or policies in line with legislation. Companies need to review their whole recruitment selection process now if they want to ensure that they are going to comply with the new age discrimination legislation coming in later this year.”
Some common pitfalls that companies could fall into when the new age legislation comes into force include:
· Asking for an applicant’s date of birth or other date bound information which may reveal age
· Requesting a specific number of years’ experience for a particular position which may adversely disadvantage younger applicants
· Using particular words or phrases in adverts which might portray the intention to discriminate, such as ‘mature’ or ‘energetic’
* Employment Tribunal Statistics taken from 2004-2005
About Water for Fish
Water for Fish is a leading people and organisation consulting company which helps private and public sector clients shape their organisation to achieve their business goals. It does this through three service areas; Transformation - achieving the right shape and feel of an organisation; Assessment - getting the right people in the right roles; and, Learning - developing people in line with an organisation's ambitions.
Aon Consulting acquired Water for Fish in January 2006 to strengthen its Human Resources (HR) Solutions business, offering the firm a strong platform from which to build on its market share in the HR Consultancy area. The combined operation, under the Water for Fish brand name, is run from Aon Consulting’s existing offices in London and Farnborough, and the Water for Fish office in Henley, bringing Aon Consulting’s regional network of offices to 12. Ben Thornton, previously Executive Director in Aon’s HR Solutions practice, heads up the new Water for Fish group.
About Aon Consulting
Aon Consulting is a leading human capital consultancy, helping organisations of every size to attract and keep the employees they need. We advise on all aspects of employment, including health-related insurance and risk; employee compensation and pensions; human resource strategy planning; job design and change management; and staff assessment and legal issues. Aon Consulting is a division of Aon, one of the UK’s largest insurance brokers and providers of risk management services and a major force in reinsurance and the UK human capital consulting market. Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.
About Aon
Aon Corporation (www.aon.com ) is a leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting. The company employs approximately 53,000 professionals in its 600 offices in more than 120 countries. Backed by broad resources, industry knowledge and technical expertise, Aon professionals help a wide range of clients develop effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions.
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