How To Tackle Age Discrimination In Your Workplace
Although many companies do their best to avoid discriminating against people because of their age, there are some sectors where age discrimination is more prominent than others.
UK Tech recently noted that in the technology sector, age discrimination can be a particular problem, because some in the sector equate youth with better performance in tech roles, and see older workers as not such a good choice.
It cited a survey by US firm Visier to support this, noting that the tech industry is more likely to favour younger workers in terms of hiring, pay and benefits, than businesses operating in other sectors.
But what can you do to ensure that you don’t discriminate based on age, even subconsciously? The news provider has a few suggestions, starting with updating your equality and diversity policy to make sure it includes age.
When it comes to recruitment, you shouldn’t ask for someone’s age or birth date on the application form. At the interview stage, ensuring you ask all candidates the same set of questions and conduct the interviews in the same way is essential.
If you’re concerned that it’s a problem in your organisation, running training sessions, particularly for managers, is a good way to ensure that people not only know what is classed as age discrimination, but also how to avoid it.
As a business, it’s vital to tread carefully and consult discrimination solicitors if you’re unsure about any of your company policies.
In the US, a former IBM employee is currently taking the technology giant to court over claims that he was laid off because of his age, rather than his performance. John Langley, who is 60, and was a sales exec at the firm lost his job last year as part of what he claims is IBM’s drive to build a younger workforce.