In the final part of this five-part, bite-sized series, Lucy Lewis, associate in the employment and incentives department of Lewis Silkin spells out just what employers can and cannot say in recruitment advertisements.
Age Discrimination legislation comes into force on 1 October 2006. Following the introduction of the legislation it will be unlawful to discriminate against employees on the grounds of their age (unless this can be justified). This will impact on all aspects of the employment relationship from recruitment to retirement and damages for successful claims will be uncapped.
The experience of countries that already have age discrimination shows that it will be particularly important to avoid suggestions of discrimination from the wording used in job advertisements. We will be examining the sort of wording used by employers in job advertisements and explaining how that may be considered to be discriminatory over the next few weeks.
The example:
Our final example is: “…10 year’s experience required…”
The lesson:
Younger workers are less likely to be able to comply with this requirement. And what does it really mean? Can the employer explain why it needs 10 year’s experience not eight or nine? It would be better to set out the type of experience that is required rather than provide a number of years.
Series articles:
Related items
- Any Answers: The use of ‘junior/senior’ in job titles
- Jargon Buster: Age discrimination
- Age discrimination: Will legislation help?
Lucy Lewis can be contacted at: lucy.lewis@lewissilkin.com
One Response
2 way Age discrimination
In my experience of some 25 years it seems more likley the age discrimination is against the more experienced people. Ads I have seen so many of say somthing like . . .
‘Graduate with 1 year experience’
or ‘Become part of a Young, Dynamic team’
or ‘Young energetic people need only apply’
Even the posted example sights an example of discrimination against the more experienced and therfore older person.
Age discrimination is 2 way, we should work hard to do away with it. Only the person who more closley meets the job requirements e.g. specific competencies should be considered for the role.
In my experience some situations exist where young people are specificaly targeted because it is cheeper to employ them, rather than for their enthusiasum and keen motivation to build their career. So many graduates end up in a dead-end job with little or worse no training or development.
In my view the age discrimination act will be a plaster covering up a much larger problem, which will not go away because of this act.