There are many practices that employers can implement to show support to ageing workers and thus prevent age discrimination. Although age discrimination is well established in statute under the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations (Northern Ireland) 2006, there remains an increasing number of age discrimination claims, perhaps contributed to by the increasing number of older individuals still working.

Avoiding age discrimination in the recruitment process:

• Advertise job openings in newspapers as well as online;
• Avoid specifying qualifications as selection criteria when they are not essential for the job. Doing so could prejudice older applicants who have the experience but were not afforded the opportunity to obtain academic qualifications. Alternatively, criteria requiring a number of years’ experience could prejudice younger workers;
• Only ask for date of birth in the equality monitoring form;
• Ensure a diverse age range is captured in recruitment marketing materials;
• Do not use language in job descriptions which could suggest age bias, for example: mature, fresh, energetic.
• Care should also be taken when advertising job titles. For example, office junior should be replaced for a more inclusive title such as office assistant.

Avoiding age discrimination during employment:

• Ensure all employees receive equality and diversity training, but particularly those involved with recruitment;
• Avoid specifying a retirement age in contracts of employment. This reflects the abolition of default retirement age;
• Ensure a fair and clear retirement policy is in place;
• Consider employing a mentorship scheme whereby employees of different age brackets could learn from each other.

Employers should ensure that they have non-discriminatory policies and procedures in place both during recruitment and also during the course of employment. As employers can be held vicariously liable for the acts of their employees, it is paramount that employees receive equality and diversity training. If you are concerned about potential age discrimination claims, we recommend that you obtain specific legal advice.