Age Discrimination?

The RICS Business magazine has published, within their latest edition, an article discussing the application of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006.

A number of companies, including DTZ, Cushman & Wakefield & Jones Lang LaSalle have all expressed the merits of the new regulations. It would seem that the hiring of graduates who are at the upper end of the age spectrum is not uncommon. What is key in every circumstance cited is the ability of the individual.

The remuneration of the employee has to ignore their age and focus on their ability to undertake the role . Consequentially an elder graduate may have a smaller wage packet then their younger, but more experienced colleagues.

An interesting point that comes out of this article is that Gavin Russell of DTZ states that an incredible forty five percent of their workforce is 45 or over. He expects by 2020 that over fifty percent will be over 50 years old.

The current demand for staff within the industry is at a premium, employers are struggling to fill their list of vacancies. Whilst this act removes any obstacles that may have been in place restricting entry for the more senior staff, it is clear that the employment of elder staff has been a trend within the industry for some time, mainly due to the lack of young professionals entering the industry.