Recruiting Older Workers Could be Ageist

Employers trying to demonstrate they are not ageist by actively recruiting older workers could actually be risking age discrimination claims, warns Croner.

The advice comes with the release of new research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), finding that 70% of UK employers are actively seeking to recruit the over 55s. But when new regulations to prevent age discrimination come into force in October, doing so may lead to discrimination claims from employees within other age groups.

Croner says that many employers already have the misconception that they will be complying with the new legislation if they boost their quota of older workers. A recent Croner study of 20 in-depth interviews with HR professionals on age discrimination revealed one respondent saying: “The legislation won’t affect us directly as we have a lot of workers over the age of 60yrs.”

Worryingly, the widely reported CIPD research could compound this view, as Croner’s research also showed that most respondents rely on the press for their knowledge and understanding of the new law.

The findings of the CIPD study also revealed that employers target young people, with 74% of organisations actively trying to recruit 16-24 year olds. When the new Regulations come in to force, actively targeting older or younger employees may not be lawful.

Under the new Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, businesses may only target a certain age group if they are under-represented in the workforce, but they must be careful not to exclude other groups.

Richard Smith, employment services director at Croner, says: “The CIPD research findings show that employers are thinking positively about age, but it could mislead them that recruiting from specified age groups, young or old, is always acceptable – a view which, in our experience, many employers have.

“Whilst targeting and encouraging applications from under-represented age groups is allowed – and something we advise our clients to do - active recruiting of specific ages is not, and may lead to claims. Complying with the new legislation is going to be a fine balance for employers who want to be positive about age and attract older or younger workers, but who need to ensure that in so doing they don’t discriminate or portray a discriminatory attitude in their recruitment methods."

Croner’s top tips for creating an age positive organisation are:

• Audit policies and procedures to ensure they encourage fair and non-discriminatory treatment and communicate them to employees
• Train managers on any potential issues they face and how to deal with those issues
• Take prompt action if issues are raised
• Give clear feedback on inappropriate behaviour
• Monitor statistics on age profile in your workforce
• Talk to/survey all employees to identify common areas of concern
• Role model positive, inclusive attitudes and behaviour
• Explore behaviours/values at the recruitment stage
• Create a “life-long learning” culture throughout the organisation
• Introduce team building exercises/buddying/mentoring schemes