You’re Not Too Old: Fighting Ageism in the 21st Century
There are regular news features about the fact that we are all going to have work longer before we can claim our pension and retire, the problem for some people with that directive, is that they might struggle holding on to their job or getting a new one, if they are considered too old.
Age discrimination at work is definitely an issue that needs to be addressed and the perceived effectiveness of older workers according to some survey results, is at odds with the view held by workers who are over fifty, as they think they are being unfairly overlooked for workplace opportunities.
Lack of leadership potential
A report that was issued by the Institute of Leadership and Management stated that out of a total of 1,400 managers who were surveyed, a worrying 61% stated that their over fifties workers had either low or very low potential to progress.
This at odds with those workers over the age of fifty are shown to often have higher specific knowledge and skills that their younger co-workers, together with a better understanding of customers.
These survey results demonstrate that older workers still have plenty to offer their employers and rather than being moved sideways or nowhere at all, there is an argument that ageism is the reason they are being overlooked, rather that suitability or ability.
The Equality Act
The Equality Act is designed to protect employees from being untreated unfairly at work and ageism, or age discrimination, is something that you should be protected from under current laws.
There are unfortunately many examples of age discrimination in the workplace and it is not just existing employees who might feel that their career is stalling simply because they have reached a certain age, but applicants can also sometimes consider that they have been overlooked because of their age.
The Equality Act is there to provide you with a level of protection if you are subjected to either direct or indirect discrimination.
An example of direct discrimination is when your employer tells you that you are not being considered for a promotion because you are too old and indirect discrimination could be something like a scenario where younger employees are offered access to training courses, but you are not offered the same chance to participate or benefit.
Justifying their decision
As with many laws, it is not always completely cut and dried and an employer could attempt to claim that their discrimination is justified and proportionate.
This line of defence is generally only acceptable in a very limited set of circumstances and it should definitely not be interpreted by an employer that they can discriminate against older employees and expect to get away with it.
One such scenario where an employer might attempt to discriminate against an older employee, is when they believe that the physical demands of a job could present a health and safety issue if they are allowed to continue doing the same work beyond a certain age.
The main point to consider is that ageism in the workplace is unacceptable in the 21st century and if you feel that you are being unfairly treated or require some independent advice, consider contacting a specialist firm who can help you to make a claim if appropriate.
Toby Gilbert works as a personnel director. He enjoys sharing his insights on the Internet. His posts can be found on many business blog sites.
