-
Archives
- August 2024
- July 2024
- June 2024
- May 2024
- April 2024
- March 2024
- February 2024
- January 2024
- December 2023
- November 2023
- October 2023
- September 2023
- August 2023
- July 2023
- June 2023
- May 2023
- April 2023
- March 2023
- February 2023
- January 2023
- December 2022
- November 2022
- October 2022
- September 2022
- August 2022
- July 2022
- June 2022
- May 2022
- April 2022
- March 2022
- February 2022
- January 2022
- December 2021
- November 2021
- October 2021
- September 2021
- August 2021
- July 2021
- June 2021
- May 2021
- April 2021
- March 2021
- February 2021
- January 2021
- December 2020
- November 2020
- October 2020
- September 2020
- August 2020
- July 2020
- June 2020
- May 2020
- April 2020
- March 2020
- February 2020
- January 2020
- December 2019
- November 2019
- October 2019
- September 2019
- August 2019
- July 2019
- June 2019
- May 2019
- April 2019
- March 2019
- February 2019
- January 2019
- December 2018
- November 2018
- October 2018
- September 2018
- August 2018
- July 2018
- May 2018
- April 2018
- March 2018
- February 2018
- January 2018
- December 2017
- November 2017
- October 2017
- September 2017
- August 2017
- July 2017
- May 2017
- January 2017
- December 2014
- September 2014
- June 2014
-
Meta
Yearly Archives: 2018
Targeted Job Advertising – Age Discrimination?
Facebook and other online job advertisers are facing criticism because they are allowing recruiters to place job adverts that are only visible to users within a certain age bracket. Commentators have suggested that this could be in breach of US anti-discrimination legislation. Of course, the UK also has its own legislation against age discrimination. Age was the last characteristic to become protected (some 40 years after sex and race) and is still the one that employers tend to forget about. Placing a job advert in a publication or on a website that appeals to a certain demographic is one thing (although it could still perhaps be used as evidence of age discrimination, alongside other factors). But to actively tick a box to make a job advert not visible to those outside of a certain age range shows clear intent to discriminate on the part of the prospective employer. As employment solicitors, we would advise against this sort of targeted advertising where the targeting relates to any protected characteristic. Most recruiters would never dream of advertising a job in such a way as to suggest a candidate of a certain race, religion, sex, or sexual orientation would be preferred. But age is one area where employers are still inclined to profile applicants. Job adverts also need to be worded carefully: references to maximum number of years’ experience can unfairly prejudice older applicants; even specifying a minimum number of years’ experience can be risky – it should only be a requirement if it really necessary for the role;describing the type of applicant you want can be risky – “would suit recent graduate” implies a younger candidate will be preferred;even words like “mature”, “active”, or “energetic” can suggest a certain age profile.
Posted in Shorter Reads
Comments Off on Targeted Job Advertising – Age Discrimination?