The Employers Forum on Age

Six months on from legislation, ageism still rife at work
Leading think tank on age says laws have yet to have an impact
30 March 2007

A fifth (20%) of Brits say that age has stood in the way of them getting a job
More than a fifth (22%) of 16-24 year olds admit they would consider lying about their age in order to get a job
Almost two thirds (63%) of those surveyed think the age laws have made little or no difference to the way that people are recruited

Sunday 1st April 2007 marks the date six months on from when new regulations made age discrimination in employment unlawful. Research* from The Employers Forum on Age (EFA) in association with Procter & Gamble, reveals that ageism is still alive and well in British workplaces, with almost six million (5,833,416 or 12%) people saying they have seen ageist behaviour in their own workplace since the laws came into force.

Ageism impacts on all aspects of employment - recruitment, promotion, training as well as redundancy and retirement selection but, according to the EFA research, seems to be particularly rife in recruitment and it's younger people who are really feeling the pinch.

More than one in four (27%) 16-24 year olds think that age has stood in the way of them getting a job (compared to just 15% of 35-44 year olds)
One in five (19%) 25-34 year olds have seen ageist behaviour in their workplace over the last six months (compared to just 6% of 55-64 year olds)

Six months on from the biggest change in employment law since the 1970s, The EFA has found that many workers are still yet to feel the difference, particularly when it comes to getting a job. Almost two thirds (63%) of people surveyed said the regulations have made little or no difference to the way that people are now recruited.

Sam Mercer, Director of The Employers Forum on Age comments: "Six months on, it is disappointing to find that so many people are still falling victim to ageism at work. It just goes to show that a change in the law is merely the first step in a long journey towards tackling endemic social prejudices - as we've seen before with gender and race legislation. It's down to us all as individuals to challenge our own ageist beliefs and ensure that particularly at work, we make judgments based on skills and ability rather than age."

From the language used in a job advert to the attitude of the interviewer, ageism lurks in every stage of recruitment. Age stereotypes have been built into British workplace culture and assumptions are made about people's work and salary aspirations depending on their age.

Mercer continues, "We still regularly spot job adverts that contravene the regulations, asking for 'young professionals', 'recent graduates', 'young talents', and 'mature candidates', or saying that salary will be offered depending on 'age and experience'. While we appreciate that it does take time to change the habits of a lifetime, it is cheaper, easier and much better for businesses to be fair in the way they recruit people in the first place, than to defend a discrimination claim in a tribunal."

Madalyn Brooks, HR Director at Procter & Gamble, UK & Ireland comments, "Diversity is a key component to business success and we fully support the end of age discrimination in the workplace. We have made some simple changes to our recruitment that now mean we both comply with the new laws and recruit from a much bigger group of people. We would encourage other employers to do the same."

Useful information:

The Employers Forum on Age has produced a guide to getting recruitment right, in association with Procter & Gamble, as well as a 'bias free' application form.
Both are available to download free at www.efa.org.uk/recruitment

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For further information please contact:

The Employers Forum on Age
Sam Mercer: 207 785 6539 - sam.mercer@efa.org.uk
Rachel Krys: 207 785 6556 - rachel.krys@efa.org.uk

Or

Lansons Communications
Helen Thomson: 0207 294 3604 - helent@lansons.com
Aisling McCarthy: 0207 294 3633 - aislingm@lansons.com

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