HR teams urged to tackle age discrimination

A new report is urging HR teams to take steps that will tackle age discrimination in the workplace, arguing that the current situation is not sustainable.

This report was produced by Age Irrelevance, a social enterprise firm. It is called ‘Rewriting the Script of Our Age: How HR Can Lead a Culture of Longevity and Inclusion.’ In the report, Age Irrelevance makes the point that people are going to be working for longer in years to come and that workplaces must adapt to this. The company is calling on HR to be the ones leading that charge.

It suggests that this is vital to the economy of the UK. One striking statistic found within the pages of the report says that over £88 billion would be added to the economy if more people aged between 50 and 64 were in work.

The report states that age inclusion must be central to management strategies, learning and recruitment, instead of being regarded simply as a matter of compliance. This would be a big change, but outsourced HR services in Bedfordshire could help with it.

Paul Sesay is the founder and CEO of Inclusive Companies, a network dedicated to diversity, equity and inclusion. He told HR Magazine that companies should be aware of the ways in which things like AI and online-only job adverts can discriminate against older applicants.

He then added:

“HR needs support to review and refresh policies to be age-inclusive, involving older colleagues and avoiding assumptions by younger managers.”

Sesay concluded by saying older employees should be asked what they need.