Are you missing out on the best?

The age discrimination regulations have opened doors for some applicants, but some employers are being extra cautious with recruitment and missing out because they don't understand the benefits of a diverse workforce.

In practical terms, the legislation means you cannot make certain statements or use specific terminology. This applies to job descriptions and person specifications as well as the adverts. Terms that infer age, such as ‘young’ and ‘dynamic’, are out. ‘Post-qualification experience’ and ‘years of experience’ should also be avoided. Other problem words include: youthful, youngster, junior, senior, graduate, mature, old, elderly, dynamic, dynamism, vigorous, tireless, get-up-and-go, trendy, hip and fashionable.

The focus should be on the skills required. Job descriptions should concentrate on the fact that candidates need to prepare feasibility studies and produce detailed design concepts (mechanical or electrical), rather than that they should be recently qualified. However, if a qualification is directly relevant, such as BEng, or if an industry membership such as CIBSE or IMechE is critical to the role, this can still be stated. As long as it doesn't imply a certain age, such as a ‘recent graduate is required’, it is unlikely to fall foul of the law.

The legislation covers everything from training and promotion to redundancy. For example, all requests for age or date of birth must be removed from an application form and included separately in a diversity monitoring form. When considering training courses, be mindful of age-related barriers and ensure all staff are able and encouraged to fully participate, irrespective of age. Take particular care to review your appraisal and promotion methods and criteria - these should not include references to age or experience but should be based purely on an individual's performance. Plus, redundancy policies such as ‘last in, first out’ could be deemed as age discriminatory by your employees.

Even throw-away comments, such as referring to someone as ‘too long in the tooth’, can leave your company open to accusations of discrimination. Generally, common sense dictates when this would be an issue and it is likely that above all, such terms would be deemed unprofessional.

As with any new piece of legislation, it often takes time to adjust, but make sure you consider the intention behind the legislation. In an industry such as ours, suffering from skills shortages, it makes good business sense to attract and consider all suitable applicants.

he new age discrimination laws may be a potential minefield, but they do effectively reinforce this message.

Office

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Legal

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Money

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