byrne dean - age discrimination

In October 2006 age discrimination will become unlawful in relation to UK workplaces. Broadly, this means that:

age cannot be taken into account in any decisions regarding recruitment, training, pay, promotion or dismissal; and
people should not be made to feel uncomfortable at work because of their age.

Ahead of this forthcoming legislation, byrne dean conducted some qualitative research to gain insight into attitudes to age at work in the City. We spoke to 75 people in groups of 8 - 15 in three different City banks and this is what we found.

In general people have very stereotypical images of employees based on their age and they are making assumptions about the abilities, motivations and needs of employees based on these assumptions - e.g. 'old people can't dance' and 'under 35s don't have the emotional intelligence to manage people'.

Whilst few think the banks are 'institutionally ageist', many feel that 'something is going on' in the working environment that favours younger employees over older people.
Many recognise that age is taken into account in some formal decisions about pay, promotion and development.
Recruitment is seen as a flashpoint; the notion of 'team fit' is said to be critical and the majority of people see age as an important factor in determining team fit. They therefore want to recruit and develop teams of similar ages and may reject candidates of significantly different ages.

People recognise that if the banks are to tackle age discrimination, introducing new policies and systems will not be enough. They see this is as a cultural and behavioural issue which needs to be led from the top so that senior manages set the right example.

To download the summary of the research report, click here

You will need the Adobe Reader® or plug-in. If you have not already installed and configured the Adobe Reader® or plug-in, click the "Get Adobe Reader®" icon for further instructions.

What can be done?

Our research suggests that people are taking age (and their stereotypical assumptions about age) into account in their informal and formal decisions about people at work. We are already working with many of our clients to raise awareness within the organisations of the problems caused by these decisions and helping them to prepare for the new legislation. We offer:

short (30 minute) awareness raising sessions for all employees. Highly interactive and thought provoking, the sessions are aimed at challenging people's assumptions and behaviour; and
longer, more in depth sessions for HR professionals, and potentially also line managers exploring the legislation and its implications as well how to tackle the prevailing attitudes and behaviours; and
consultancy support, by way of audit for example, in preparation for the new legislation.

Want to know more? Click here to contact us for more information.