News – Ageism put under the spotlight

In advance of new legislation next month to combat ageism in the workplace, a new report, commissioned by the Department for Work and Pensions, has examined the challenges faced by the community sector in relation to the recruitment, training and retention of older workers.
The community sector, which includes private sector activities, public sector services, private services with public subsidy and voluntary sector organisations, was found to employ an unusually high proportion of employees over 65 and under 24: 73% of public and 20% of private employers in the sector say that they use age as a recruitment criterion. Private sector employers were found to be generally more flexible about working patterns than public sector bodies, though they offer less formalised equal opportunities policies to protect employees from age discrimination. Free information about the new age discrimination legislation is available at
w: http://www.agepositive.gov.uk/agepartnershipgroup