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Ban on job applicants revealing their age in CVs

ended 29. July 2022

This month a law forbidding employers from asking the age of job applicants came into force in Denmark. The law aims to tackle age discrimination in recruiting.

For UK-based HR/recruitment specialists and lawyers. Here are a few questions from a UK perspective:

  • Is a ban on asking the age of candidates a good thing?
  • Would a ban on asking the age of applicants reduce ageism in the workplace?
  • How could such a law be enforced?
  • Is ageism a problem in the UK jobs market?
  • Are HR departments and recruiters actively screening for age when processing the CVs of job applicants?
  • What steps should recruiters be taking to reduce ageism?

Answer one or all of the questions above (and add anything we might have missed).


 

6 responses from the Newspage community

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Jen David
Owner at Jen David
It's already illegal, under the Equality Act, for recruiters to discriminate against applicants on the grounds of age. That's not to say it doesn't happen though, either consciously or unconsciously, which is why a best-practice CV gives minimal clues about an applicant's age. It's been many years since date of birth, marital status, number of dependants and NI number were expected on a CV, but there are other ways to limit the potential for age discrimination - such as eliminating graduation dates and very early career roles, using a modern layout and showing you're up-to-date with key industry tech.
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Sam Alsop-Hall
Chief Strategy Officer at Clive Henry Group
The reality is that age bias and age discrimination are often concealed and difficult to pinpoint, and exist during all phases of the recruitment process. This means it will be difficult to eradicate them even by introducing a ban on directly ascertaining a candidate's age. Much like other unconscious biases and stereotypes, it will require a concerted effort among employers and recruiters to tackle this issue. Even if the UK introduced a ban on asking for someone's age, the discrimination would still manifest during recruitment processes as employers could work out someone's age from their CV and candidates may still encounter stereotypes associated with older workers such as being too independent, being unhappy to take orders from younger managers, being unlikely to stay in the job for long and therefore not growing within the company, being less able to pick up new skills, and being less likely to adapt and comply with manager demands. Much like other unconscious biases and stereotypes, it will require a concerted effort among employers and recruiters to tackle this issue. It cannot be enforced through law, much like other protected characteristics such as age, race, gender laws have not, unfortunately, eradicated the unconscious biases that impact recruitment for these characteristics. Many people in all age groups perceive themselves to be subject to age discrimination. Age discrimination largely operates covertly and out of direct sight of job applicants. Despite the absence of water-tight evidence of age discrimination by employers, many older jobseekers nevertheless have a strong ‘suspicion’ and ‘feeling’ that age bias plays a fundamental role in the recruitment process. I have little doubt that there are significant barriers and challenges experienced by older workers and jobseekers during recruitment processes. I know there is significant existing academic employer-facing evidence that backs up the existence of ageism in the UK job market. I see plenty of evidence of age-related stereotypes being prominent among employers, and how these can affect people’s attitudes and behaviours. I don’t believe HRs or Recruiters are screening for age specifically, but I do think further attention needs to be given to the hiring and recruitment process for workers of all ages. It is the intersectionality of people's characteristics which needs additional protections, support and education. We know, for example, that a white 30-year old heterosexual male will have less difficulty finding a job than a black 60-year old bisexual female with the same skillset and qualifications; but which one of their protected characteristics is causing them to be subjected to bias in the recruitment process? Race, Gender, Age or Sexuality? Recruiters should consider preventative steps across their entire process to tackle ageism and other unconscious biases and stereotypes. At application stage, employers could adjust or remove the monitoring and inclusion sections of application forms. It’s common among older jobseekers to suspect that the demographic information being collected is used to filter them out. Make application forms more flexible. Consider how objectivity can be retained while allowing applicants to present their full experience. Age-friendly employers could be more explicit about the information required from applicants on their CV. There is a perception shared by many protected groups, such as ethnic minorities, people with disabilities, younger people, and other groups facing labour market disadvantage, that it is their protected characteristics working against them, but it may genuinely not be - so improve feedback so people can improve and develop. At Interview and assessment stage, make sure you have diverse selection panels, including by age. Recruitment agencies can provide specific advice and support to older jobseekers as well as exploring to what extent they themselves are affected by age bias and negative stereotypes - can you challenge your clients to think more about ageism? We are seeing some impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic leading some employers to place less emphasis on team dynamics and image, and more on experience and proven responsibility, especially when hiring hybrid or fully remote roles. So maybe the market is shifting and ageism will be less of an issue moving forwards.
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David McCreadie
Managing Director at Swi-tch
To discriminate against age is unacceptable. I’ve worked in the recruitment industry for over a decade and have never felt it necessary to ask someone their age but that’s not to say it doesn’t happen. A ban against ageism is not going to completely solve this issue as this is very much a “behind closed doors” situation, but what it will do is encourage companies to put in processes that will limit discrimination. Swi-tch have robust processes with clients that mitigate sexism, racism and ageism when considering candidates for jobs so they can make clear decisions based solely on a person's experience. Recruitment businesses need to have their own standards and processes when it comes to tackling this issue and not just leave it for the clients they work with to decide.
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Laura Rennie
MD at Arena HR Ltd
The Equality Act already protects candidates against Age Discrimination so UK employers would be crazy to ask about age at interview. However, very often employers can try and work out candidates' ages based on experience and dates of school qualifications, if on the candidates' CVs or on the application form. Legislation around this hasn't helped in my opinion, its better to have useful case studies to showcase younger or older workers. Shift the old-fashioned mindset by smashing those stereotypes. I've worked with many 'younger' workers who have a great work ethic and aren't sitting up all night playing their game console. I've also worked with brilliant 'older' fire fighters who I'd happy to be saved from a burning building from regardless of age. Age is a number. Attitude and work ethic are the key elements.
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Amelia Brooke
Career Coach & Certified CV Writer at Amelia Brooke Career Vision
Academic research has shown recruiters read CVs in a systematic pattern, taking 6.25 seconds to make a yes/no decision. Add implicit recruiter bias to the vetting process, and it's shocking any CV advances to candidate status. Implicit age bias, along with name, gender and even carers' bias manifest themselves in the CV review stage. It is possible to diminish implicit age bias in CV reviews. From a career coaching and CV writing perspective, many of my over-50 clients are concerned about age discrimination. Certainly, some employers and some industries like the tech industry, actively seek younger workers. But not all employers think that way. There are employers out there that don’t subscribe to the belief that the older you are the less value you have. So my advice, regardless of age, is to embrace your unique experience, knowledge, strengths, and abilities. In practical terms, the date of birth should not be included. But it’s amazing how many CVs start by stating the number of years of experience in the top line. If age is a concern, it’s far better to offer a few key accomplishments that promote the skills essential to performing the opportunity that you are seeking. I also tell my clients that a perfect CV writes to the future as much as it summarises the past. It's best to be thinking about where you are going, not where you started out. This means there’s no need to include an entire 30 to 40-year work history.
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Sarah Loates
Director at Loates HR Consultancy
The Danish legislation builds on the concept of blind CVs. A blind CV doesn't have any identifying factors such as the candidate's name, gender, age, or race. For me, age is irrelevant in recruitment. That said the sad reality is that some employers still shortlist with age in mind. And a blind CV would not necessarily help, if you took O' Levels, and it's on your CV, you are over 50. These narrow-minded employers are missing a trick and in turn some great talent. With the advent of portfolio careers and more flexible remote working, age is just a number.