According to MPs on the Women and Equalities Committee, people aged over 50 are being locked out of the workplace. Although age discrimination has been unlawful for over a decade, the report on older people and employment says that we “must be clearer that prejudice, unconscious bias and casual ageism in the workplace are all unlawful under the Equality Act 2010”.
The report has criticised the government and the Equality and Human Rights Commission (EHRC) for failing to enforce laws around discrimination. They have called for them to work together to come up with a targeted plan to address this.
There has been a huge focus on gender pay gap reporting, now the committee has recommended the introduction of reporting the age profile of workforces. They would like recruitment agencies to accept greater responsibility in collecting data on where older workers are being excluded and developing a plan of action to remove discrimination from the recruitment process.
Organisations are faced with a huge challenge in recruiting and retaining skilled workers. There is a strong business case for an age-diverse workforce. But has the unconscious bias towards older workers led to a great source of the talent pool being casually disregarded and not being used as part of the solution to recruitment and retention issues? Employers that don't tackle age bias and discrimination in the workplace by improving policy and practice, and creating an inclusive working environment will find themselves being left behind and potentially faced with an employment tribunal.
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