Circumvention of the Equality Act (2010) - In a good cause

[paultel]

I am trying to get a feel for the boundaries of the Act and would really appreciate any guidance I can get…

It is my understanding that the Equality Act (2010) makes it unlawful to positively discriminate in employment situations. Even in cases where the individual(s) involved qualify as having a protected characteristic.

Presumably it follows that establishing a commercial enterprise comprised solely of (and limited to) individuals sharing a particular protected characteristic would be similarly unlawful. (If I’ve got this wrong, please advise).

Here then is my problem... What if someone wished to start an organization* comprised exclusively of older persons whose principal commercial objective was to provide goods and/or services to similarly aged customers? Is there any way this could be implemented/constituted so as to not run afoul of the legislation?

Obviously, as things currently stand, there is a yawning chasm between the Government’s stated desire to “get older people back to work” and the number of realistic options available for them to do so. Given this backdrop, such “self-help” endeavours do not seem particularly unreasonable. Especially since they have the capacity to be economically advantageous for both participants and Government alike.

[atticus]

The Equality Act (https://www.legislation.gov.uk/ukpga/2010/15/contents) has numerous sections containing exceptions. This is how provisions such as compulsory retirement ages for firefighters and airline pilots have been upheld.

Have you considered whether any of the exceptions in the Act may apply in your scenario?