Architecture jobs –
Age discrimination legislation
Don’t be caught out by Age Discrimination legislation when
you are recruiting to fill architecture jobs.
Does it affect my company?
If you’re a firm of architects looking to recruit for HR,
secretarial, finance or architecture jobs, you perhaps need to add
legal adviser to that list. On 1 October 2006, legislation was put
in place to protect against age discrimination, and it is no longer
lawful to discriminate on grounds of age. The Employment Equality
(Age) Regulations 2006 protects young and old alike.
Direct or indirect discrimination
There is a distinction in the Regulations between direct and indirect
discrimination. Direct discrimination is when an individual is unfairly
treated on the grounds of age. Indirect discrimination is when a
blanket policy or practice disadvantages an individual because of
their age. This doesn’t have to be deliberate. As a potential
employer you may be looking for a trainee or recent graduate to
fill an architecture job, but you can be challenged if you don’t
offer an interview to a mature student on the grounds that you expect
to get less ‘working years for your money’.
Sub-conscious prejudices
Age Discrimination is a state of mind and by introducing legislation,
the government hopes to make us aware of prejudices that we may
not even realise we hold. For many years it was deemed acceptable
for an employer to prefer male employees because they were less
likely to leave to have a family. Society then moved on, with more
and more women returning to work after the birth of a child, and
legal rights and financial support put in place to encourage this.
Today an employer wouldn’t dream of giving an architecture
job, for example, to a lesser qualified man in preference over a
more experienced woman. In years to come, the age discrimination
legislation should produce the same reaction.
Fines for non-compliance
Risks of non-compliance with the Age Regulations are serious. Where
employers fail to meet requirements on age discrimination (as well
as race, sex and disability discrimination), they are at risk of
having to pay out considerable sums of money because there is no
upper limit to financial awards for age discrimination. In recent
years, enlightened employers have realised that there is an untapped
market in the retired person who wishes to continue working –
being of retirement age no longer means that you are over-the-hill
or wish to have unlimited leisure time. Equally if a candidate for
an architecture job has the required qualifications and experience,
it is now unlawful to refuse their application on the grounds that
they are too young.
To talk to one of our advisers about recruiting for architecture
jobs within the legal requirements, call now on 0115 946 9034 or
e-mail us at recruit@ktp-recruitment.com
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