Date published: 01.09.08 - not release date

OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER? - Ageism legislation and its impact on hiring practices– white paper released

OLD ENOUGH TO KNOW BETTER?
Ageism legislation and its impact on hiring practices– white paper released

In order to help cmpanies through the ageism maze, specialist finance recruiter, Nigel Lynn in conjunction with the employment law specialists at Glovers solicitors have produced a white paper outlining the effect of new anti ageism legislation on hiring and HR practices. “Given that a recent survey by the Employers forum on Age found that 61% of respondents knew of cases of what they considered to be ageist behaviour where they worked, this could become an “employers bible”, says Steve Carter, MD of Nigel Lynn.

“With the regulations impacting directly on the hiring process, all those responsible for recruitment will have to ensure that the letter of the law is applied right from the concept phase of a particular recruitment requirement - from the creation of the job specification – right through to how the vacancy is communicated”, says Carter. The white paper includes the following tips:

•Avoid the use of “mature” or “dynamic” in recruitment advertisements
•Avoid asking for a “number of years’ experience” as this may be construed as discriminating against younger candidates – focus on the skills needed instead
• It is safer for application forms not to ask for dates of birth or age related information
•If asking for graduates make sure that it is obvious that graduates of all ages are welcome to apply
•Be careful about the use of images in your advertisements and in your recruitment brochures – are the people portrayed all young – or mature? You need to demonstrate a mix.
•Just because you may have a young team, this does not mean that you can recruit the same sort of age to “fit in”.

“Recruitment is about people”, says Tony Bourne, employment lawyer with Glovers Solicitors who co-wrote the report, “and given a range of candidates with similar experience and qualifications, decisions will often be made by line managers according to their “gut feel”, choosing the person who they think will fit best into their team. In a tribunal, this would be a dangerous argument”.

It is also important to realise that age discrimination applies to any age. A recent snapshot survey by Nigel Lynn asked 158 accounting staff in their twenties whether they had ever been discriminated against in the workplace because of their age. Over half felt that they had. Much of the media coverage so far has centred on ‘older’ employees but discrimination on the basis of age – whether that’s 16 or 60 – will be illegal.

“Age discrimination is quite simply as a waste of talent”, says Carter and the recruitment industry can take a definite lead in debunking many of the traditional assumptions that underpin attitudes towards age and work.”

For your free copy of the white paper “Old enough to know better?” e-mail Sally Hennessy at Nigel Lynn : shennessy@nigelynn.com


Tracey Dunn
BlueSky PR
0845 3700125
tracey@bluesky-pr.net