Age discrimination is no joke and can affect individuals of all ages in any field of work, including the shipping industry. It can lead to decreased motivation and increased sickness and can compromise cohesive and effective teamwork. It can also negatively affect companies resulting in potential organisational, economic and legal consequences. These new guidelines will help ship operators understand the different types of age discrimination, whether direct or indirect, and show how this can be avoided with respect to recruitment, training, pay and promotion, as well as redundancy and retirement.