Introducing age discrimination into Guernsey law

On 21 March 2025 the Committee for Employment and Social Security (the Committee) released a Policy Letter with respect to the prevention of discrimination and proposals for the ground of age and other matters (the Policy Letter).

The Policy Letter brings about the long-awaited amendments to the Prevention of Discrimination (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2022 (the Ordinance) to introduce discrimination on the ground of age.

The Proposals

The primary amendment of interest is the proposal that the Ordinance be amended to provide “protection from discrimination and harassment, as well as victimisation, on the ground of ‘age’”, with the protection applying not only in the field of employment, but with respect to the provision of goods and services, accommodation and education, and in the membership of clubs and associations.

In bringing the legislation in line with that of Jersey and the United Kingdom, age discrimination can be allowed in certain circumstances. Those who have discriminated on the grounds of age will need to show that there is objective justification for doing so, i.e., that the discrimination is a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. This is contrary to the other grounds of discrimination, such as race, sex, or disability, whereby there can be no objective discrimination.

There are, however, expected to be a swathe of exceptions to be included in the amendment to include the ground of age, which the Committee said is “particularly important for the ground of age given that differential treatment on this ground is often justified and beneficial”.

In addition, young people under a certain age will not be able to make complaints of discrimination on the ground of age, but will retain their protection with respect to the other protected grounds.

What is the definition of age?

Whilst this may seem an obvious question, the Policy Letter sets out that age shall not only include their age, but also their age group. Therefore, it will be possible for someone to compare themselves to a person of a different age or age group, thereby widening the scope for discrimination to take place.

What exceptions will be brought in?

As referenced above, there are a number of exceptions to be added in the schedule to the Ordinance, including:

• Preferential charging (e.g. family tickets, OAP prices)
• Minimum wage
• Length of service and seniority (introduction of rates of pay or terms and conditions)
• Redundancy (decreased amount on the basis of age)
• Social housing (permissible to treat people differently in relation to age when allocating accommodation)

The list runs to 22 proposed exceptions, with the final proposed amendment being that the general exceptions as set out in the existing Ordinance be amended to cover age. The Policy Letter specifically references the population management exception, stating that it should be amended in a proportionate way so that population management policies can account for age.

What does this mean practically?

In practical terms, the introduction of age discrimination as a protected ground protects islanders from being discriminated against on a wide range of fronts.

The most obvious way that islanders will be protected is with respect to employment; employers will no longer be able to refuse a candidate on the basis of their age without objective justification. If objective justification cannot be demonstrated, then the employer will open itself up to ramifications.

Additionally, default retirement ages will likely become a thing of the past for a majority of roles.

However, the amendments proposed by the Policy Letter will not only impact employers. It will be important for all businesses and landlords to consider whether they may be at risk of discriminating on the basis of age without objective justification.

What can be done?

All employers, businesses, clubs, associations, and landlords will need to carefully assess their practices to ensure that they do not fall foul of these amendments.

For employers, this will consist of reviewing employment contracts and other policies (including handbooks), paying particular attention to retirement clauses and any other provisions that may relate to age of employees.

Landlords will need to ensure that they are not refusing viable tenants based on age, or offering only short-term leases on the basis that the tenant may be older than other candidates.

Conclusion

The process of introducing protection against discrimination into Guernsey law has been a long one, and the Policy Letter adds in the last of the major grounds of discrimination, meaning that Guernsey law at long last has the full suite of protection for islanders.

The Policy Letter also states that next up for consideration is the incorporation of the grounds of sex, marriage, and gender reassignment (currently covered by the Sex Discrimination (Employment) (Guernsey) Ordinance, 2005) meaning that the scope for protecting against discrimination on those grounds is widened beyond the employment context.

However, whilst the move is a positive one, we can expect a long wait for the introduction of these measures, with the Policy Letter stating that the earliest date the amendments will come into force is the second or third quarter of 2027.

Should you need any legal advice on this matter, feel free to contact our dispute resolution team: Robin Gist, Alison Antill, Charlotte Tomlinson, Rebekah Johnston, or your usual contact at Ferbrache & Farrell.