Is age a big barrier to getting a job?
After gender, age discrimination is the single greatest issue relating to employment raised by callers to the Equality Authority, according to Niall Crowley, CEO of the Authority. Up to 15 per cent of complaints to his office have been related to age discrimination in the workplace.Until the introduction of the Employment Equality Act two years ago it was widely accepted that companies could, and sometimes should, favour young people in recruitment. The new Employment Equality Act will have a huge impact on recruitment policies however. Now, because of the new equality legislation, employers will have to ensure they are not operating work practices which discriminate on age grounds.For example, if an organisation states it wants ‘young blood’ or ‘flexibility’ or ‘lively staff’ it could be laying itself wide-open to a legal fight. Such requirements can be viewed as a form of unlawful discrimination since they are likely to deter older workers.In offering access to overtime, voluntary re
