Little hope for anti-ageism laws

The intention of new employment laws which aim to eliminate ageism in the workplace is laudable, say silicon.com readers, however they question how effective the laws will be.

The legislation, which comes into effect on 1 October, makes it illegal for companies to discriminate against individuals based on their age during the hiring process or when considering promotion or providing on-the-job training.

Businesses will also not be allowed to force employees to retire before the age of 65 and must consider workers' requests to work beyond retirement age.

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Readers took particular issue with the new regulation which will forbid employers from advertising for "young" or "enthusiastic" workers and from specifying a minimum number of years' experience.

One reader said: "Why is 'enthusiastic' considered to be a young adjective? I know plenty of keen older people, and lots of new graduates who really can't be bothered!"

Several readers questioned whether forbidding employers to ask for applicants' years of experience will eliminate age discrimination - and instead thought it would hinder employers and recruiters being able to find appropriate candidates.

A recruiter explained his dilemma: "By not allowing us to specify how much experience is required (and years of experience is a good benchmark) the number of applications will increase, as will the frustration of the applicants as we are having to be vague in our search criteria. Has this been thought through properly?"

Recruiters and head hunters received a fare bit of criticism from readers for perpetrating age discrimination - and readers had little hope the legislation would change this.

"From the experience of friends and family the problem lies squarely with the recruitment agencies and will thus be very hard to root out or monitor. Direct application seems to be the only way for an older candidate to get an interview, let alone a job but how many companies advertise directly these days?... Can't see how the legislation will help... just one more reason not to take on an older candidate."

But in-house HR departments did not get off without blame. One anonymous reader said: "Legislation will protect those in work - but will not improve the ability of those seeking employment to get onto short lists. We simply will not meet criteria often because many of the 'older generation' of IT professionals have an eclectic mix of lifelong learning, so don't fit neatly into some HR skill set box."

A reader from Wales suggested that sidestepping recruitment agencies and using the web to facilitate direct communication between employers and job applicants could help the situation.

He said: "A note to all employers - use web 2.0 sites to advertise your recruitment requirements and ignore the middleman. You can make your own mind up about candidates' experience, enthusiasm and appropriateness for the role then."

Like the laws or not, several readers pointed out how difficult it would to enforce them - and to prove that employers are doing anything wrong.

Reader Bob Gear said: "Like so many other regulations, they are completely useless unless they are enforced and monitored. How do we know that an employer is discriminating on age when the rejection letter includes euphemistic phrases such as 'there has been a huge response to our advert' and 'we have many other candidates who match our requirements more closely'."

An IT pro expressed a healthy dose of pessimism based on his experiences in Ireland: "Ageist legislation has been in force in Ireland for a number of years and it is not at all effective and does not hinder employers continuing to discriminate against older people. Age legislation is just a waste of time and gives the impression that action is being taken to prevent employers from discriminating against older people. Employers will always have the upper hand and no legislation can force employers to change their attitude and recruit older people."

Reader Gary Thompson echoed this sentiment: "Changing the law won't stop ageism in the same way that speed limits don't stop drivers speeding."