Vulnerable elderly people in the North have faced alleged harassment and unequal pay at work, the Equality Commission said today.
The watchdog fielded 535 age discrimination-related enquiries since safeguards were introduced two years ago.
Despite this, equality legislation due to be introduced in Britain will not be extended to Northern Ireland.
A spokesman for the commission said: “Issues raised during this period (since 2006) include recruitment, retirement, terms and conditions, harassment, redundancy, dismissal, equal pay, pensions and family status.”
She added almost a tenth of discrimination queries involved age.
“The level of inquiries and complaints received by the Equality Commission suggests that age is an important issue for employers and employees alike,” she added.
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations have permitted the first challenges to ageism in the workplace.
This week is Northern Ireland’s third Age Awareness Week.
PA