Age discrimination is against the law and it comes in many forms from the subtle to outright bullying. But how can we identify it, deal with it when it happens to us, and be a good ally when it happens to others?
“Put simply, ageism in the workplace is when someone treats you unfairly because of your age, the consequences of which can impact significantly upon your confidence, future job opportunities, quality of life, mental health and wellbeing, your finances and so on,” says Lisa Seagroatt, founder of HR Fit For Purpose.
“Some examples of ageism in the workplace include asking you about your health or disability during an interview process [with a view to discriminating against you depending on the answers]. Or being refused a promotion as the employer presumes, because of your age, that you may be planning to retire soon.”
Dr Emily Andrews, deputy director at the Centre for Ageing Better, says that a survey the organisation undertook revealed that 37% of people in their fifties and sixties experienced ageism at work in the past 12 months.
What does the law say?
The Equality Act 2010 protects workers from age discrimination in all aspects of employment as age is a protected characteristic. Age discrimination is illegal, and employers can be severely penalised with heavy fines. There is no limit to the compensation that can be awarded, and many successful cases have been brought before employment tribunals. Since 2011, there has been no default retirement age, so you cannot be forced to retire by your employer, Lisa adds.
“Once a case is taken, the burden of proof is on the employer or potential employer to show that they have not behaved in a discriminatory manner,” says Mark Gallagher, senior associate at Hanlaw. “The scope of the act covers pre employment, so external job applicants are also covered under the legislation.”
Examples of age discrimination
Age discrimination can take many forms, affecting people of all ages.
Mark says that examples include “someone being stereotyped as stubborn, or unwilling to develop professionally and learn new skills; someone being sidelined for promotion opportunities on the basis that they may retire soon; and workplace jokes and banter regarding age that are left unchallenged by the management team and HR.”
Lucas Botzen, CEO and HR expert at payroll provider Rivermate, says he has seen examples of older workers “gradually bullied into retirement or simply not invited to social activities and being totally excluded from the workplace.”
Age discrimination can happen to younger people too. For example, employers cannot reject a younger applicant because they believe an older applicant will ‘carry more weight in the role’ or reject a woman because she ‘could be of an age to get pregnant anytime soon’, says Lisa.
“Some organisations choose to focus on hiring and developing younger employees and therefore make older employees feel disadvantaged,” says Mark. “Equally, some employers may put too much emphasis on experience and therefore unfairly disadvantage younger employees.”
Dee, 49, a playwright, and Basia, 60, an office manager, agree that age discrimination may even play a role in getting a job in the first place.
Since she turned 40, Dee has been asked by TV industry executives if writing is her hobby, despite her years of experience and extensive body of work.
“Once, I was told I was being passed over for a 22-year-old male who had not written anything yet, but had ‘watched a lot of Netflix, so understands stories well’,” recalls Dee. “I’m a professional theatre writer! I’ve had many proper productions put on, I’m Arts Council-funded, and yet because of my age, I’m asked if it's a hobby. Like I’m sat in my conservatory thinking it might be a fun thing to do before I retire.”
Basia is frustrated too. She has been looking for work since moving back to the UK after a long stint abroad with her husband: “I haven’t experienced age discrimination at work, as I can’t get any work.”
“I think it’s down to my age, but I can’t prove it,” she says, adding that low wages may have an impact on whether employers favour younger workers.
What if I’m a victim of age discrimination?
Before taking legal action, which can be time-consuming, stressful and expensive, it is advisable to try and resolve the issue within the workplace. Discussing issues with a line manager is a good first step as they may be able to address your concerns and resolve them quickly and informally. This can be especially effective if some has “inadvertently caused offence to others with an outdated approach to many issues in the workplace”, says Lisa.
When raising concerns internally, Mark advises employees to “explain that ageism isn't in the spirit of equality, diversity and inclusion, and everyone should be treated equally regardless of age.”
But if the informal, low-key approach doesn’t work, or the issue is actually with the line manager, Lisa says you should raise a formal grievance: “Details of how to do this should be in the grievance policy, which you should find in your employee handbook, but, if not, follow the Acas Code of Practice to raise your grievance.”
While it can be difficult to raise a grievance at work, it is important to note that you will not be able to take your case any further, unless you have tried your employer’s internal processes first.
Mark says that raising a grievance “may be appropriate in the case of a serious matter, such as an advertisement for an internal vacancy asking for a ‘young and vibrant’ candidate.”
It is important to document your experiences of ageism before raising your concerns, says Lucas: “What happened? When did it happen? Who was involved?”
Lisa also advises keeping “detailed notes … as you will need to refer back to these, especially if you need to make your employer formally aware of what is going on.” It is recommended that witnesses of age discrimination keep notes too, as they may need to support a colleague if the matter is escalated. She adds that throughout the process, workers “need to be clear about their expectations” of their employer to help achieve a satisfactory outcome.
But if the situation does not improve or get resolved satisfactorily after internal processes have been followed, an employee can seek external legal advice and escalate the matter via a body such as Acas, or the courts.
Fear of career repercussions can hold employees back from raising ageism-related concerns, although as Christine, 50, discovered, speaking up may have helped her in the long run with her career in publishing.
When she was 47, a line manager told her that “brains don’t work over 40” and said she shouldn’t apply for a job she was interested in “at her age”. Even though she wrote everything down, “eventually, I asked to be moved as she was a bully, and I was afraid of scuppering my career completely.”
“It was a rubbish move for me and I’m still paying for losing that original role in my career,” Christine reflects. “I don’t mind it, it’s interesting, but I’ve lost the influence and opportunities that came with my original job.”
Be an anti-ageism ally
Even if you have not personally experienced workplace ageism, you can still be an ally to your colleagues – and employers have a responsibility to maintain high standards. Lisa says employers should have “a robust recruitment and selection process to ensure that more decision-making cannot be allowed to happen.” This should include investment in training on equality, diversity and inclusion policies “to ensure that all types of discrimination, including age discrimination are not present in businesses.”
“In reality the best performing companies are those with multigenerational workforces who combine skills, knowledge and experience to deliver greater productivity, innovation and customer relations,” says Emily.
For employees who have witnessed age discrimination, Lisa advises offering support so they “feel confident about taking action to ensure the behaviour is not condoned and not allowed to just continue.”
“It’s not easy to call things out in the workplace, as people automatically worry that they will be victimised for speaking out, but when they have support from their colleagues it helps people to feel more confident and to validate why they need to take action,” Lisa continues. “Plus it’s the only way to change certain attitudes, particularly towards age, and to help drive organisational change, particularly where change is much needed.”
Mark advocates speaking out on behalf of colleagues by “openly stating that age discrimination is unfair and inappropriate – and that an older person's experience and energy should not be underestimated – as well as the option to speak to a manager of HR about how this may be a cultural problem within the organisation.” He adds that you can also be supportive by “refusing to laugh at ageist jokes and calling them out as inappropriate.”
“Ageism at work will only be overcome when people have the confidence and willingness to push back if they hear an ageist comment, or see ageist behaviour either directed at someone else or experienced by them personally,” says Emily.
“This can be difficult in the workplace, especially if the ageist comments or behaviour comes from senior figures within your organisation,” she continues. “But if you don’t feel comfortable challenging the ageism in the moment, we would always encourage staff to report any concerns to their HR department, who should have age and ageism as part of their equality, diversity and inclusivity focus.”
Lucas says that speaking out “on the spot” when an incident happens makes it clear that such behaviour should not be tolerated, as well as supporting a victim of discrimination by listening to their concerns, helping them record incidents and offering to be with them when they make a report.
“Challenging workplace ageism is not simply an issue of personal justice – it is about creating a better, more inclusive, and sensitive work environment,” he concludes.
