Older workers ‘are among most common targets for prejudice’

Posted 22/06/2010

Despite laws in place to protect them, older workers are still at risk from age-related discrimination.

This is the conclusion of a new report published by the Institute for Employment Studies (IES), which found that during the recession, older staff were more at risk from redundancy and pay freezes than younger employees.

Some firms were found to be using older workers as an easy target when it came to cutting costs by reducing the number of staff.

Marie Strebler, IES spokeswoman, said age-related stereotyping was among the most common forms of prejudice highlighted by the study.

“Negative attitudes and stereotypes in the workplace have not necessarily disappeared with the advent of age discrimination laws,” she added.

It is illegal to discriminate against a person based on their aged under the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006.

All aspects of employment are covered, including training and dismissal, and there is no upper age limit on the right to claim unfair dismissal.