Weekly blog: Age is but a number (so why is it such a problem in employment?)
Hello, hi…we must stop meeting like this – people will talk!? It is your 4 weekly dose of Emma Tice on the ones and twos in this week’s blog…not literally.? What I mean to say is that it is my turn to blog this week on all things Tice, Precept and employment law.
Put simply, I.am.frazzled!? I don’t wish to be negative and I promise I will stop there, but why are you so frazzled I hear you all ask….well, whilst the vast majority of the school children in the UK enjoyed half term last week (and hence there may be one or two frazzled parents as this week begins!)? ours did not!? The reason?? Well, its literally world famous.? Known colloquially around our parts as “the Match” I mean Shrovetide of course!
For those who don’t know, and it is very random so I would forgive you if you don’t know., Ashbourne is the home of the Royal Shrovetide Football.? Now, for those of you who know me, you know I literally despise any kind of football, so you can see where this is going….but the match is pretty famous you could say!? Essentially it is a medieval football match played annually on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday.? In it’s current format it has been played since 1667 and is sometimes also known as “hugball.”? Around our parts it is an institution and the whole of Ashbourne closes down for those 2 days and focuses only on the match.? It is BIG!!!!
There really are very few rules to the game.? There are 2 teams – the Up'Ards and the Down'Ards (local dialect for "upwards and downwards"). The Up'Ards are traditionally those town members born north of the river (Henmore Brook), and Down'Ards are those born south of the river. Each team attempts to carry the ball back to their own goal from the turn-up, rather than the more traditional method of scoring at/in the opponent’s goal. The ball is “turned up” from a special Plinth in the Shawcross Car park.? This starts the game each day at 2pm, and after each goal that is scored.? Unless a goal is scored after 6pm and then play ends for the day.
Still following?! There are two goal posts 3 miles apart, one at Sturston Mill (where the Up'Ards attempt to score), the other at Clifton Mill (where the Down'Ards score). ?The actual process of 'goaling' (we don’t call it scoring!) a ball requires a player to hit it against the millstone three successive times. This is not a purely random event, however, as the eventual scorer is elected en route to the goal and would typically be someone who lives in Ashbourne or at least whose family is well known to the community.? Oh, and you have to actually be in the river to “goal” the ball.
The game is played through the town with no limit on the number of players or the playing area (aside from those mentioned in the rules below). So, shops in the town are boarded up during the game, and people are encouraged to park their cars well away from the main streets. ?It really is a spectacle if you see the “hug” – it is so called because that is how the ball tends to travel, through one giant and everlasting rough and tumble, much like a much longer rugby scrum; that moves!
Even the ball is special and once a ball is “goaled” it is taken out of play and will eventually be decorated with the name and chosen design of the person who goaled the ball.? One of the most popular colloquial stories suggests the macabre notion that the 'ball' was originally a severed head tossed into the waiting crowd following an execution!? Gross!
There are very few rules in existence, so really most things go.? The main rules are:
So, if you fancy a go, or to join the numerous celebrations going on around the town on those days – head down to Ashbourne on Shrove Tuesday and Ash Wednesday….which leads me full circle to why I am frazzled – our school holidays are linked to Shrovetide as you couldn’t very well send the Ashbourne town schools in with this kind of madness going on around them…plus everyone wants to go and play/watch/enjoy the festivities!? Consequently, I have 2 very tired and emotional girls on my hands…only this week to get through and they can have their half term!
So, that was a very long “personal” update, wasn’t it?! Informative though, right?? I would say its more complicated than TUPE to be honest. Wouldn’t you agree?
But what has been happening in the world of HR and employment law??
There are a few things on the horizon from a discrimination perspective.? But I have blabbed on for long enough so I will just give you one of those updates (the most important one obviously!!)
On 19 February 2025, following an inquiry which set out, among other things, to examine the adequacy of the legal framework in place to protect older people, the Women and Equalities Committee (WEC) published a report,?The Rights of Older People.
The report concludes that ageism is widespread and culturally embedded in the UK.? Which sucks!!! It suggests that older people are being failed by discrimination law because their protections are inadequate and rarely enforced. The report recommends that the government should commission the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) to review the effectiveness of protections against age discrimination provided by the Equality Act 2010 (EqA 2010) in England. If this does happen, the outcomes could be far reaching and could see a shift change in age discrimination protections.?
Remember that direct age discrimination is the only type of direct discrimination that can be objectively justified – so it makes sense why there are criticisms being levelled at the current protections.? The report notes that this exceptional treatment of the protected characteristic of age contributes to a widely held perception that ageism is less serious and more socially acceptable than other forms of discrimination.? Which again does make logical sense (I am not agreeing with it, just following the logical conclusions).
There are also calls for duties that mirror those new ones implemented for sexual harassment late last year being implemented for age.? That is a strengthened "reasonable steps" duty on employers to prevent age discrimination.? One other option suggested was that section 14 of the EqA 2010 could be brought into force.? That would provide for combined discrimination on the basis of two protected characteristics.
There are more people in older age groups in the UK than ever before and these proportions are expected to increase over the coming decades. There are currently 11 million people in England and Wales aged 65 or older.? Again, it therefore makes sense as to why age is in the spot light.? So, watch this space over the coming months for any further updates on this (and for the result of this years match!)
If you want advice on anything related to discrimination (age or otherwise) or advice and assistance on how to effectively manage and ensure you are getting the best out of your workforce, whatever their age – give Precept a shout!