Bosses stick their heads in the sand over age laws

Employers are failing to gear up for legislation that will outlaw ageism at work, a special report from the Recruitment Confidence Index has found.

The research into attitudes to age among nearly 1,500 employers found that only just over a third (39%) had introduced age policies at work with a further one in four planning to introduce policies over the next 12 months.

But nearly one in three - 30% - had no clear plans despite looming legislation that will make it illegal to refuse someone a job, promotion, training or benefits because of their age from October 2006.

The research also reveals that hundreds of bosses are unaware of the ageing workforce and the declining pool of younger talent. One in five employers said they had no knowledge of population changes and one in four claimed any such changes would have no impact on their businesses.

The Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI) is a quarterly survey of UK directorsí and managersí expectations of changes in recruitment activity and business conditions. It is produced by Cranfield School of Management and the Daily Telegraph in association with Personnel Today magazine.

The research special into employersí attitudes towards age has been sponsored by RHL Executive Search. A repeat of research carried out in autumn 2003, the survey has found little change over the past 15 months.

Commenting on the findings Shaun Tyson, Professor of Human Resource Management at Cranfield School of Management said: There is clearly a sizeable minority of employers for whom ageism is a non-issue. They are making a big mistake because attitudes towards age are not just about compliance with the law, but are about the availability of high quality people in the workforce. Good people come in every race, gender and age.

The research shows that age stereotyping affects young and old alike. Nearly half - 45% - of respondents say older workers lack technological skills; 23% say older people are slow to learn and 22% say older people are not interested in training. Younger workers on the other hand are viewed as íinexperiencedí by 60% of employers, prone to take sick leave (52%) and as íunreliableí (37%).

However, a sizeable number of employers are also aware of the benefits an age diverse workforce can bring to the business. They say age diversity reduces turnover (53%) improves moral (41%), raises productivity (35%) and increases profits (16%).

Richard George, managing director at head hunter RHL Executive Search said: Introducing age diversity into the workforce adds stability and experience to teams and offers more balanced management styles. It also provides another perspective on the ageing of the client and customer base and the rise of the grey pound.

And Chris Lloyd, Classified Sales Manager at the Daily Telegraph, said the findings should serve as a wake up call to employers.

We are seeing fewer and fewer references to age in job advertisements but this doesnít mean employers have a more sophisticated approach towards age. The obvious benefits that accrue from employing a diverse age range means that whatever the law says, employers are missing a trick if they donít start working hard to eliminate age prejudice throughout the organisation, he said.