Adecco - The Age Discrimination Act: Hot Topics

As you will be aware on 1st October the Age Discrimination Act will come into force. The legislation aims to outlaw all forms of age discrimination including discrimination of both younger and older individuals. This will impact a wide range of employment practices including graduate recruitment programmes, redundancy practices and, crucially, whether firms will be prohibited from setting retirement ages.

Adecco, the worldís largest recruiter is at the forefront of topical HR issues and included below are the key areas Steven Kirkpatrick, managing director of Adecco UK and Ireland can comment on should you require some industry perspective:

Age Discrimination Act topic areas:

1. What benefits will the legislation have for employees/ employers/ agencies?

- Employee motivation
- Diversity work issues
- Open market for better candidate attraction

2. Retirement and dismissals over the age of 65 ñ the logistics for employees and employers

3. Who is protected under the new legislation ñ employees/ employers/ agencies?

4. The consequences of a claim for employees/ employers/ agencies?

5. Recruitment process issues:

- Job advertisements
- Applications
- Interviews
- Short listing and selection

6. Recruitment agency-specific provisions:
- Client liability
- Recruitment agency liability
- Liability for ìaidingî discrimination
- How to approach discrimination issues with clients

Steven Kirkpatrick, managing director for Adecco UK and Ireland offers the following opinion on the latest changes, The Age Discrimination Act is going to have a big impact not only on businesses but also for employees and job seekers. The complexity of the legislation means that businesses will have to ensure all departments, not only HR are up to date and informed of best practices to comply with the legislation. It is also important that employees and job seekers research what this legislation will mean to them as it will impact the recruitment process. This is a time when recruitment agencies will be able to offer advice and support businesses and job seekers alike in ensuring that this legislation is beneficial to all parties and does not led to unnecessary problems.

Adeccoís Top Tip Advice for employers and employees:

Employers

1. When constructing job advertisements avoid using any terminology associated with age

2. Ensure that all staff conducting interviews are briefed fully by the HR department

3. Ensure that recruitment agencies used are reputable

Employees

1. Before you apply for a job or attend an interview be aware of your rights

2. Research the type of information you have to provide potential employees - did you know you no longer have to provide potential employers with your date of birth or marital status?

3. Closely observe the criteria for the position - by highlighting the skills you have with the requirements of the advert you will improve your chances of success

If you would like the next level of detail or to speak with an Adecco spokesperson then please feel free to contact the Adecco team on 0845 3700 655 or adecco@octopuscomms.net