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How can the UK clamp down on age discrimination, which still exists despite laws against it being in place?
A recent report from the Women and Equalities Committee stated that the policing of age discrimination and bias was not preventing outdated employment practices and said stronger enforcement is needed in order to uphold age discrimination laws.
It wants to see the EHRC agreeing specific enforcement actions across both the public and private sectors, and adds that recruitment agencies should accept more responsibility for data collection to discover where older workers are being excluded.
Maria Miller, Chair of the Women and Equalities Committee, said: “Age discrimination in the workplace is a serious problem, as many older people have discovered. Yet despite it being unlawful for more than a decade, the scale and lack of enforcement uncovered by our inquiry is both alarming and totally unacceptable.
“As a country we face serious challenges recruiting and retaining an experienced and skilled workforce. Until we tackle discrimination against the growing number of over 50s, they will continue to be consigned to the ‘too old’ pile instead of being part of the solution.
“The business case for an age-diverse workforce is clear. Despite this, employers continue to organise workplaces around an outdated, inflexible model that this inquiry and our past inquiries into fathers in the workplace and the gender pay gap show no longer works. It’s time for a mandatory approach, with flexible working being the default from the time jobs are advertised onwards.”
The report also found: