Age discrimination in the workplace ‘not a major issue’

Posted 10/05/2011

Employment laws designed to protect people from being discriminated against in the workplace due to their age may be having an effect, as one expert has claimed it is not a major issue for most people.

Mike Emmott, public policy adviser at the Chartered Institute for Personnel and Development, explained that individuals who have been with their current employers for some time are likely to be treated the same as any other worker.

He added that provided they do a good job, the only difficulties they are likely to experience may be an assumption that they will not want further training, for which he suggested discrimination is “far too strong a word.”

However, Mr Emmott added that those looking to apply for new jobs, especially workers aged over 60, may have problems with potential employers not taking them seriously.

“It is of course unlawful to discriminate on grounds of age when recruiting people, but it is often more difficult to prove,” he observed.

Last month, it was suggested by charity Working Families that pregnant women may also be at risk of discrimination, as it has seen an increase in the number of calls it takes from females worried about losing their jobs.