Stereotypes will make 2006 age regulations hardest yet for compliance

Age discrimination legislation due to be introduced next year could present companies with larger problems than sex, race or disability discrimination, according to a unique new study published today by Croner.

The research, by the Ludic Group with the London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), commissioned and designed by employment law experts Croner, reveals that ageist stereotypes exist in the workplace and, to achieve a workplace free from ageism, employers need to address grass-roots culture change in time for 1 October 2006 when age discrimination is outlawed.

Participants of the study, all employees aged in their 30s to 50s, were unaware of age as a factor in workplace diversity. Ageism was considered more socially acceptable than other prejudices, such as race and religion.

Participants thought that certain jobs in their company came with an age tag, yet accepted this as the ’way it has always been’ - even if they didn’t agree with this in principle.

But penalties for workplace age discrimination will be just as severe as for other forms of discrimination. Croner, a leading UK provider of employment law information, advice and consultancy, says the study supports its firm belief that companies need to address inherent stereotypes that exist in their workforce now, before it is too late.

The research, chaired by Professor Patrick Humphreys, head of the Institute of Social Psychology at LSE, is believed to be the first of its kind. It observed employees in large companies in the financial services sector and analysed their personal views and experiences on age using a ’real workplace’ situation to provide a glimpse into true organisational life. The companies involved claimed to be ’age diverse’ and working towards ’best practice’ in terms of diversity.

Age discrimination is unique in discrimination legislation because it can affect anybody of any age, therefore all employment practices will need to be tested for any inherent ageism.

Christopher J Mellor, head of the Croner businesses and CEO of Wolters Kluwer UK Ltd says: Our exploratory study has shown we have a long way to go in addressing age related prejudice and has highlighted the uniqueness and enormous scope of this legislation. Age is the poor relation in the diversity debate and ageism is worryingly not seen by employees as a workplace crime. But next October, the law will deem age discrimination illegal and our study paints a gloomy picture of how ill-prepared business is to face this challenge.

When we leave for work each morning we take our prejudices with us and this widespread acceptance of ageism as ’just the way things are’ means employers need to be proactive in terms of educating employees about diversity.

Significantly, the study was conducted within organisations that had already taken steps to comply with the impending regulations, further illustrating that introducing age-friendly policies alone is not enough and companies must take steps to promote the fact that it is no longer the workplace norm for, a ’junior’ position to be defaulted to someone ’younger’, or ’senior’ to someone ’older’.

Action to promote age diversity taken only by a few companies will not effectively alter the wider culture, and we hope our report will be helpful in establishing this issue onto boardroom agendas across the UK.

Speaking on behalf of the research team, Patrick Humphreys comments: This was an exciting study in which we sought to prove the idea that legislation itself could not solve the problem of age related discrimination.

Accounts from the participants in these organisations showed that addressing age related stereotypes was clearly an issue and led us to recommend companies take age positive steps and identify practical methods to challenge assumptions and attitudes towards age.