Age-related Words to be Outlawed in British Job Listings—from an article by Doug Saunders in the Toronto Globe and Mail

On Sunday, new laws take effect that prohibit age discrimination, following a European Union directive that stamps out any form of preference in the matter of age.

Employers can no longer seek people with more than five years experience, ask for any amount of ‘postgraduate’ experience, or solicit birthdates on job applications, lest they seem to be discriminating against younger workers….

Companies also will be required to offer all employees the opportunity to work beyond 65.

European governments are aggressively adopting such laws not simply out of a desire to extend human rights, but because they are facing profound challenges as their low birth rates lead to an aging population.

(back to November 2006 Newsletter front page)