Endangering the minimum wage is just one of the claimed hazards of the new age discrimination law. The bloggers have uncovered even greater depths of influence.
Search terms: age + discrimination
Note to reader: in the interests of the new Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, the following blogs come from across the age spectrum and none of the authors will be referred to as “old codgers”, “whippersnappers” or any other derogatory age-related term. Even if they are. And anyway, it’s always nice to see the Saga surfers joining the ASBO generation in venting their spleen at whatever they’re venting their spleen at.
So, let’s get down to business. First up this week we have our old (or perhaps merely well experienced) friend, ephebiphobia. You all know the one: young kid in a hoodie = knife mugger. Or as www.wikipedia.org puts it: “The irrational fear of teenagers or of adolescence, and the prejudice against teenagers or underage adolescents”.
Ever since the BBC last week published a piece on its website www.bbc.co.uk warning that the new age discrimination laws, which came into force on Sunday, “could endanger the minimum wage” for those under 21, the sparks have been flying.
The concern, apparently, is that paying different levels of minimum wage according to age contravenes the new act.
Devil’s Kitchen at devilskitchen.blogspot.com, attempts to capture the gravity of the situation saying: “This government is really fucking things up royally aren’t they?”. Interestingly his entry is entitled “What’s my age again?”. No comment, Mr Devil.
Meanwhile 42-year-old Jock Coats uses his blog jockcoats.blogspot.com to air his concerns that younger people would no longer have any incentive to remain in education. Of course the fact that Jock runs a student halls of residence each night has nothing to do with his views …
The potential pitfalls don’t end there, however. Rather bizarrely, a health and safety blog, safetyrisk.blogspot.com, raises the spectre of the end of age-related holidays such as Club 18-30 or Saga. This may perhaps be music to the ears of readers of a certain age who would be delighted at no longer having to dodge their way past puddles of vomit on their way to beat leathery ladies from Saffron Walden to the choicest sun-lounger. Disappointingly however, on closer inspection this prospect is shot down as a facetious hoax.
This brings us nicely to the excellently named Howard the Pirate King at zombiecoterie.blogspot.com, who seems to have confused the new Age Discrimination Act with something that deals with hard-done-by hippies. In his blog about “New Age discrimination”, he says: “My right to refuse to work in an office where the toilet hasn’t been feng shui’d (sic) and to fire people if their aura is wrong is now enshrined in law.” The old ones are always the best.
