to think age discrimination is still happening when applying for jobs?

[murphyslaws]

Why does every application form for a job have date of birth somewhere on it. Either as a seperate sheet or as part of application.

You have to say age, gender, disability and sexual preference.

You have the option of saying "would rather not say", except it seems for age.

I worked for a firm that had these applications and know that we ignored the ones where people refused to say, and that was for the council.

My hubby is 46 and every job he applies for has the right skills but is looked over each time.

AIBU to think that these questions should not form any part of application. If someone is disabled then at the point of booking interview (after being selected) they can request an interview taking into consideration the disability i.e. Down stairs or wheel chair accessible.

What the heck does age or Sex or sexual preference make to someone being able to do a job. It seems that it's a legal way around the rules!

[PedantPending]

I work freelance and do not have my dob on my cv. As a pervious poster said, anyone competent can work out my age, roughly, by my experience and qualifications. I have no problem giving people my date of birth once I have a firm offer or have had an interview.
I have never encountered "ageism" and I am 57 now. However, just after I got married, aged 41, I had a period where no offers were forthcoming and I had "married" on my cv. Once I took it off, there were immediate bites at my skills and experience again.
Luckily I don't look my age, so I could be anywhere between 35 and none of your business ;-)

[tinyterrors]

My dad had the same when the company he worked for went bust in the recession. He was an HGV driver and was applying for the same job he'd just left but was constantly told he was too old. It took him 4 years to get another job despite applying for hundreds of jobs in that time.

It's only going to get worse for those working in manual and retail type jobs. When my dh can no longer physically do his job in construction I don't know where he'd be able to get a job, he's got no qualifications or experience in any other type of work.

Contracting won't be an option for millions of manual labourers once they're physically unable to work in their current jobs.

[wasonthelist]

Yanbu. Ageism certainly exists.

Interestingly, the way they do this in the USA is by not asking for any data at all on race/religion etc. Not saying they are right or wrong.

[Linnet]

My husband would like to change his job. Most jobs advertised ask for you to hand in a CV, you don't always get to fill in application forms anymore.
Although his age is not on his CV they can work out how old you are by your work experience/qualification dates.
He hands in CV's and never hears back and we feel that it's because he's in his 40's. They want young people so they can pay them less it's that simple.

[EponasWildDaughter]

needs sometimes i think 'zany and fun' translates as 'will be paid minimum wage and treated like shite basically' as well. Companies don't want to pay for more than the minimum for a body doing what it's told in a uniform, and they can get away with that employing 18 - 21s.

[parrots]

I think age is less of an issue for contracting work, could that be an option?

[Blackheart2016]

I am 50 and that is ancient in my profession. I would have no chance of getting a new job. How I am supposed to work until 68, I don't know (that would be nearly 40 years in the same job.)

For senior roles they are looking at the up and coming late 20s and early 30s, trying to spot the high flyers. Experience counts for very little.

So yes op I agree with you, I think 46 in a lot of jobs is classed as old and there is a lot of discrimination at application/interview stage.

[EponasWildDaughter]

expat - ''It's going to be a real problem now the government needs us to work longer.''

The image i always have in my head of older people at work is that they've been there years and just stay on as the retirement age gets pushed further and further.

But you're right though. In future are companies going to consider folk applying in their 60s?! Let alone 40s and 50s.

[NeedsAsockamnesty]

One of my friemds recently went for a interview with a household name company she is 44 it required no qualification or real experance she was very obviously skipped over in the group interview in favor of the 18yo's who were there and the entire emphasis of the group interview was on "zany and fun" but in reality that translated as very Young.

[Iliveinalighthousewiththeghost]

Yes it does still go on abd always will do despite age discrimination laws. There's a certain well known shop where I'm from which i wont embarrass by naming and I don't think I've seen anyone over 30 working in there.
I mean obviously they won't say to you. You never got the job because of your age. They couldn't. Discrimination abd employment laws would eat them alive. They'd pull another reason out of the hat, but anyone thinking age discrimination is a thing of the past are well and truly fooling themselves.

[PausingFlatly]

I agree with you about the age discrimination, though.

[PausingFlatly]

It just guarantees the interview, not getting the job.

And is to counterbalance the natural and unavoidable disadvantage disabled people face in the labour market. (As well as avoidable, intentional discrimination, but hey ho.)

Eg both your DH's trades are inaccessible to, say, a person in a wheelchair, or a blind person. So all his life he's been (completely unintentionally) advantaged in applying for those jobs, by not having to compete with wheelchair users or blind people. Schemes like the above are just to make sure that, when a job comes up that IS accessible, a disabled person who meets the job criteria actually gets a bite at the cherry. They can be turned down if your DH is also interviewed and is the better candidate.

[murphyslaws]

Scribble I know but my whole point is that it's supposed to be regardless of age, sex, disability if you are able to do the job then you should be given the opportunity.

So if you are disabled you are entitled to an interview over able body.

If you are then say 30 you should be given priority over a 40 year old.

If I'm Afro Caribbean I should be given the job instead of a white person

My point is it makes no difference if you are able to do job. It should not be on application form.

Discrimination is noun: discrimination; plural noun: discriminations
1. 1. 
the unjust or prejudicial treatment of different categories of people, especially on the grounds of race, age, sex or disability

It's illegal in U.K. To discriminate but it seems acceptable.







[scribblegirl]

Murphys it's called the Two Ticks scheme:

www.civvystreet.org/employers/CivvyStreetEmployers/Resources/JobcentrePlusdisabilitytwoticksscheme.aspx

[murphyslaws]

Maids.

declaring a disability, even one they don't describe on the form (so 'unseen', 'other' etc), are automatically called for interview.

Surly This is discrimination in view of able bodied people?

[MaidOfStars]

If someone is disabled then at the point of booking interview (after being selected) they can request an interview taking into consideration the disability i.e. Down stairs or wheel chair accessible
At mine and my husband's workplace (academia and hospital trust, respectively), candidates declaring a disability, even one they don't describe on the form (so 'unseen', 'other' etc), are automatically called for interview.

[DrDreReturns]

You can always tell someone's approximate age from their qualifications and work history. I haven't encountered age discrimination myself but can well believe it exists. I think teams with a spread of ages are good. In our office there is a 60 year old, a couple of us in our thirties and a graduate in his early twenties. It's a good mix of experience IMO.

[murphyslaws]

It's interesting reading people's views.

Hubby is 46 and HGV driver also worked for ten years as UPVc window installation. He has excellent maintenance skills.

I think 30 seems to be the best age.

[expatinscotland]

It's going to be a real problem now the government needs us to work longer.

[CombineBananaFister]

YANBU - We actually changed our recruitment process to make it a more level playing field. Candidates get an interview slot based on answering a few job related 'experiene questions - they arrive with us knowing their name and email only.

The interview is a role play which is meant to show us how good they would be at dealing with awkward situations in the role they are applying for, if they pass then they get a one to one which is more like a normal interview.

We were getting too many candidates with loads of qualifications or knew how to do a 'good' interview but were not capable of the actual job and dealing with customers/colleagues. Things have really improved ad I can honestly say we've employed lots of mature people as they do well in this type of interview, we also get a lot ore people getting through that dont have oodles of qualifications bbut are fab with people

[Spickle]

There is age discrimination but maybe not in an obvious way. My DH is 51 and is struggling to find work - possibly because his perceived "experience" and "seniority" mean that younger "bosses" don't think he'll be a good fit in their team, or will happily stay there for any length of time.

I have also been passed over for a more senior role in my current job because the new solicitor in the office is only 26 and wanted to have an assistant that she could mould in her team and who would have more in common with her. The person who got the job has no experience at all and had only been working in our company for a couple of months (and is younger than the solicitor). I feel I would have done a great job with considerably more experience but, hey ho, we are a couple of generations apart . Not bitter at all obviously!

[BigChocFrenzy]

It's real. We wanted a particular tech guy who had just the right skills fit, but he was 41.
So couldn't even consider him for interview.
Cutoff for many salaried jobs, unless it's senior management, seems late 30s. Older than that and you increasingly have to be contracters / self-employed - but that's not always possible.

[Leigh1980]

At least you don't waste time applying it weeds them out lol

[Leigh1980]

Here it's terrible with ages. A lot of time it even mentions it on an advert! 21-25 years only etc! One was so ridiculous it specified minimum ten years experience under 26 years only 😂😂.