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Although there is currently no statutory definition age discrimination can be explained as occurring when someone treats a person less favourably because of their age, and uses it as a basis for prejudice against and unfair treatment of that person.
Tackling age discrimination in the workplace: Creating a new age for all - 0ctober 2005
The Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development together with the Chartered Management Institute undertook a survey of more than 2682 managers and personnel professionals. The respondents worked in around 2,500 different organisations in both the private and public sector. The report ‘Tackling age discrimination in the workplace: Creating a new Age for all’ discussed the findings.
Results showed that age discrimination persists in many organisations with six in ten respondents  (59%) reporting that they had been personally disadvantaged at work because of their age and almost a quarter (22%) of those surveyed admitting age has an impact on their own recruitment decisions.
It also revealed that 48% had suffered age discrimination through job applications and 39% believed their chance of promotion had been hindered by age discrimination.
It can be seen that both older and younger people feel discriminated against as 25% of respondents said their job applications had suffered discrimination because they were too old and 23% said it was because they were too young.
Other Examples
Effects of age discrimination can be seen in other areas as well as employment and some examples are given below:
- routine breast cancer screening is currently carried out for women up to and including the age of 70;
- most car rental companies in the UK and abroad will not rent a car to people over 70 years of age (and some have an even lower age limit);
- Social Care Cost ceilings (upper limits on expenditure amounts) for older people are lower than for younger users of social services commissioned care.
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