The UK Government is Increasing the Retirement Age - Literature review Example

Therefore, increasing the retirement age will mean more advantage to the elderly employees in the UK construction industry, considering that employers are reluctant to offer employments positions to older workers. Age discrimination could worsen, considering the negative attitudes that exist with regards to performance of the aged. Negative attitudes claimed that Low performance of the aged has contributed largely to early retirement among employees (United Nations, 2009, p. 52). The negative attitudes with regards to low performance of the aged could be improved with good performance and contributions of the older employees who have for a long time been denied the opportunity to prove their efficiency at an old age.

Employee Age Discrimination According to Lewis, Lewis, and Thornbory (2006, p. 160), older workers are discriminated against on the claims that at an old age, employees tend to have less physical strength and incapability to endure hard conditions in work environments such as the construction industry. More to this, the older employees are also discriminated on claims that their cognitive capacity is low compared to younger employees. However, eliminating age discrimination in the UK construction industry would be attracting, motivating, and retaining the aged staffs that are fit for leadership and motivation of the younger employees.

More so, employers could gain much reputation as transparent and an equal opportunity employer for development of skills and empowerment to the members. Direct discrimination involves treating individual employee less favorably with regards to their perceived or actual age associated with the individuals where no legitimate aim is justified. Indirect discrimination occurs in situations where policies, procedures and practices that apply to all employees exist, but in specification to the individuals perceived to be old.

These practices, procedures, and policies may include application requirements for a particular job that excludes a particular group of disadvantaged individuals, where no legitimate aim is justified. This practice amounts to violation of the law, since the UK legislations demand that employers should not discriminate against employees by their age and incase so, the case must be justifiable fact as a legitimate objective of the organization (Fineman, 2011, p. 59). Harassment implies situations where unwanted behavior towards the aged employees has the purpose and impact of violation of a person’s dignity with regards to intimidation, human degradation, hostility, and humiliation of employees.

On the other hand, victimization refers to an unfair treatment brought forward as a complaint by an employee who is regarded to have been treated unfairly based on age. The threat and complaints of age discrimination in the construction industry seem to be rampant at an early age compared to other industries. The increase in the retirement age by the UK government may lead to increased case of discrimination against the aging employees. Older workers are often put under pressure by both employers and fellow young employees to retire against their wish (Adams and Beehr, 2003).

The UK construction industry is faced by rampant age discrimination claims among employees who are entering their phases of prime