Law is being brought in to protect elderly workers

A conference will examine key principles of the age discrimination regulations and age-related issues affecting recruitment and selection.

Lessons from the Irish Republic, where legislation is already in place, will also be considered.

The conference is being held by the Equality Commission.

It will be addressed by a range of experts and will put forward the business case for employing older workers.

The age discrimination measures will come into force on 1 October 2006 across the UK, bringing laws into line with those in the USA and in most other European Union countries.

They will ensure the UK complies with the European employment directive on age discrimination.

The British government has said the laws would mean over-65s would have the same protection against unfair dismissal as younger workers.