Bromak, Positive about mixed aged workforces

Construction recruitment company Bromak has teamed up with ëAge Positiveí to fight age discrimination in the workplace.

On October 1st 2006 new legislation will make age discrimination illegal in the majority of work places and forbid employers to force employees over the age of 65 to retire.

However, Bromak took a proactive step to help people affected by this prejudice over 18 months ago when they joined Age Positive, a team from the Department of Works and Pensions that promote the benefits of employing a mixed aged workforce.

Martyn Makinson, Director of Bromak said: ìWe contacted Age Positive because itís a campaign we really wanted to get involved in. We have employees from the age of eighteen up to over sixty; in fact lots of our employees are in their fifties and sixties. For us age can often be an advantage because in construction, experience is a priority for a lot of our clients.î

However, age discrimination does not just apply to older employees and the new laws will mean that the lower and upper age limits for unfair dismissal (currently 18 and 65) will be removed, in most circumstances every employee, regardless of age with be considered for training and promotion, and employers must seriously consider any employees wish to carry on working after retirement age.