Answered by Jo Swinson
Well first of all I think the laws were very, very welcome but we can’t be complacent and say that because we’ve got a law there then everything is fine. In a sense it is not totally surprising that the problem hasn’t been solved a year on, I think it was 30 years ago that we had equal pay legislation and we are still in a situation where there is not equal pay between men and women. It is clear that this will take a while to achieve because it is about changing attitudes. But the first step is to make sure the legislation is there so there is a clear statement from parliament to say that this is wrong. The EFA say not much has changed but I think it will start to filter into the consciousness of employers and also workers will start to think “well actually I don’t have to retire the minute I hit 65 and maybe I can consider working longer”. As more and more people do that then that will help to change attitudes but changing attitudes does take time and will only partially be achieved through legislation. Legislation is an important factor but we also need more organisations like the EFA to help share best practice amongst different employers. Best practice is then, in a sense, the carrot and use legislation as the stick on those that lag behind and still discriminate on the basis of age.
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