Let’s talk about Age in the workplace

The fundamentals of age discrimination

Age discrimination refers to the unfair treatment of an individual for reasons relating to their age and without objective justification.

There are different types of age discrimination in the workplace, such as:

• Direct discrimination, which can take the form of promotion and demotion based on specific age, regardless of ability or experience
• Indirect discrimination, which is determined by a criterion or practice that may disadvantage a group based on their age. For example, if an employer offers a training course to recent graduates then this could exclude older workers

Employer actions

There are a range of actions that employers can take to mitigate the potential for age discrimination in the workplace and cultivate greater inclusion for all. These include:

• Flexible working and support for the health and wellbeing of staff, which are important to help workers feel able to work effectively regardless of personal circumstances
• Onboarding and progression policies that remove bias from job descriptions and offer continued development opportunities
• Monitoring workforce data on age diversity to support retention, skills planning and forecasting

We want to build on these examples of best practice through your views and experiences. This will help us understand how to overcome barriers to age inclusion in the workplace.

What do you think?

CMI conducted a series of polls as part of its 75th Anniversary project into what ‘good’ looks like in the 21st century for modern management and leadership, and the implications for best practice.

The aim is to help us make practical recommendations that organisations, leaders and government can implement to maximise the talents of all workers. Find out more on the main page for CMI's 75th Anniversary celebrations.