U.K.: Age Bias Claims Overtake Sexism

LONDON, England (The Financial Times), December 21 2007: Age discrimination is becoming more prevalent in the workplace than sexism, according to a YouGov survey on behalf of Croner, a human resources consultancy. The poll of 1,992 British adults found that 11 per cent felt they had been discriminated against because of their age, compared with 8 per cent who felt undermined because of their gender. The finding comes just over a year after age discrimination laws were introduced and suggests that age claims could overtake those on other forms of prejudice in employment tribunal cases. Age discrimination was experienced in almost equal numbers by men and women, according to YouGov. Some 27 per cent of those asked said they had been the victim of some form of discrimination, either because of their age, sex, race, religion, sexual orientation or disability. The number of employment tribunals in the UK rose by more than 15 per cent this year, according to government statistics. Gillian Dowling, technical consultant at Croner, said employers should avoid using phrases like “too young” or “too old” in any employment decision. The Forum of Private Business, which this month launched a completely updated version of its Employment Guide to cover new and upcoming changes to employment law, said tribunals of all sorts were an increasing problem for its members. By Jonathan Moules Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2007