09-08-2007
Prejudice remains for older employees
Prejudice against older employees in the workplace has not been dissipated by recent regulatory changes, it has been claimed.
According to Philip Walker, co-founder and chairman of the Campaign Against Age Discrimination in Employment (CAADE), rather than legislation both employers and employees should receive training on the possibilities offered by older members of staff.
"What we're doing at the moment is trying to [pressure] the overnment to spend more on educating employees - but they need to spend more on educating employers too," said Mr Walker.
"Prejudice can take a long time to change. Just because we got a law passed doesn't mean to say there's been a change of attitudes," he added.
In October last year, the UK government introduced the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, yet revised procedures or policies have been implemented by no more than 17 per cent of small firms, according to the Advisory, Conciliation and Arbitration Service.
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