HR Industry News

Raising awareness of age discrimination

— 12 July 2007 —

More needs to be done to raise awareness of age discrimination issues according to a new report which examines the impact of recent legislation on recruitment.

The Age Legislation makes it unlawful to discriminate against workers, employees, job seekers and trainees because of their age.

Businesses must take care to advertise in a manner that will reach the whole job market, focus on actual performance when doing appraisals and recognise that senior employees have a wealth of experience that is valuable and can help their organisations. This is our approach at Ceridian, and we have seen the business benefits.
Elanie Kruger, Head of Talent, Ceridian

The report, entitled Age and Recruitment, reveals that the new regulations have left some organisations confused and wondering whether they needed to close graduate recruitment schemes and stop using words such as experienced, young and dynamic for fear of falling foul of the law.

The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, along with Cranfield School of Management and Beachcroft LLP published the report and its employee relations and diversity adviser, Sally Humpage, said that their research shows that some aspects of employment are causing businesses more challenges than others.

But the research shows a number of employers are starting to move beyond good intentions towards delivering strategies that contribute to achieving an age diverse workforce, she said.

The report draws on findings from best practice organisations and highlights a number of recruitment issues to consider, such as: