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Life Ends at 50: Ageism in UK
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Cathleen Liu
WHEN Chris Smith, a senior recruitment consultant, noticed a job vacancy in the high profile company he was working for, he decided to apply. "I have very good industry qualifications, lots of experience and I am only 49," he said at his job interview. However, not only did he not get the job, but he was asked to leave because, Smith says, "they told me that I was too old."
Age has become an accepted criterion for redundancy in Britain. Even 40-somethings who are still working, don't feel secure. One 45-year-old senior manager of a major banking once told a reporter of his worries about his age: "When I turned 40, I knew I could go at any time. Five more years is certainly the maximum. There are lots of young people desperate to get on. Of course the company will lose my experience but they don't care."
It has been reported that in many industries men and women have found it hard to get new jobs once they are over 40 and face an increasing risk of "early retirement" or redundancy once they pass 50. According to a survey conducted in 1998 by Age Concern, Britain's National Council on Ageing that mainly deals with the needs of older people, there were 3.7 million men and women over 50 who are either unemployed or inactive——more than in any other age group. More than 8 million people said they had suffered age discrimination.
Worse still, the category "old" is being applied to people at a shockingly early age. "Some define an older worker as a woman over 35 and a man over 42," said Rob Cope, spokesman of the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) which is a network committed to tackling age discrimination in the workplace. "In the IT industry, a man aged 35 is thought of as old."
"It is true," confirmed Chris. "Many of our female customers are in their late 30s. They come to us because they have been discriminated against because of their age."
His words are echoed by Jenny, a primary school art teacher from Oxfordshire. "I was 38 when I got my education degree from university. I had tens of interviews. Every time I was rejected even though I had more experience with kids. The reason was quite simple——they thought I was too old and they preferred to pay less money to hire younger people with less experience."
Once redundant, the first crisis they face is how to make ends meet as many of them are still working on mortgages and paying for costly education bills for their children.
In Britain, the average adult with a full-time job earns ￡384.50 per week. If you lose your job at 50, you will have to wait for at least another decade before you can claim your state pension (woman aged 60, man aged 65) of ￡66.75 a week for a single pensioner and ￡106.70 for a couple. While waiting for the pension, the only support you can expect from the government is a weekly unemployment allowance of ￡35 pounds or an Incapacity Benefit which is very hard to qualify for, especially when you are a man with savings.
Getting another job is the best solution. However, the prejudice against older workers in the labour market makes this extremely hard. Bosses, especially the younger ones, see older workers as inflexible and lazy. Meanwhile, younger workers are considered physically fitter, more familiar with new technology and more adaptable to change.
When you step into the employment market, your first encounter with age discrimination may come from a recruitment agency, which is supposed to be the bridge between the unemployed and employers. When Ed from Oxfordshire was sacked in his mid-40s by an international company which he had served for more than two decades, he went to register at a recruitment agency. However, he never got an interview because the staff at the agency told him straight away that he was too old.
Age decides the attitude from the perspective employers, although sometimes they find other excuses. Lack of relevant skills is one of them. To improve the situation, a common way is to join job-related training programmes to update your skills. Again, the reality can be cruel.
A report by the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) said only 7% of those aged between 55 and pension age are getting any job-related training.
Age discrimination has both economic and social implications for the country. EFA warns it costs Britain's economy ￡5.5 billion a year, with an added ￡26 billion in lost production.
The stressful, frustrated unemployed workers over 50, who have become a vast, wasted work force, are also provoking a funding crisis in the country's pension system. It is estimated that by 2030 Britain will have to allocate an additional five per cent of GDP to finance the pension system. At that time fewer and fewer workers produce the output while the number of people over pensionable age is projected to increase from 10.7 million in 1996 to 11.8 million in 2011. There are now one million fewer people in their 20s than there were 10 years ago and this is expected to create a shortage of workers. People over 45 now account for 22 per cent of its temporary workforce, up from 18 per cent in 1998 and 15 per cent in 1997.
Moves against ageism
Experts in UK have noted the crisis and called for employers to hire older workers or even those who have retired, saying that they are more committed, reliable, have better communication skills with customers, fewer social activities and furthermore, "they have no problems with younger bosses". Organizations such as Age Concern or EFA have launched campaigns to urge the government to combat ageism.
The government launched a Code of Practice on Age Diversity in June of 1999, which aroused extensive criticism. The committed amount of only ￡70,000 for the promotion of the Code clearly indicated that ageism is only a soft issue in the government's agenda.
Three months after the Government launched the Code, the EFA's research on 430 employers found the following: three in ten employers had never heard of the Code; less than one in ten intended to make any changes in the way they recruit and train their staff; 68 per cent said a code will make no difference to the way they run their business.
More embarrassing still, it was revealed that insurance giant Sun Life had tried to pension off executives over 50 while Barclays, one of the biggest banks in the UK, had aimed to let some of its staff retire at 45.
Don Steele, chairman of Equal Rights on Age, another organisation that tackles ageism in employment, commented: "The code doesn't go far enough and bad employers will ignore it. There will still be no sanctions that can be used to stop age discrimination. Voluntary schemes are ineffective without the backing of the law."
Without a law against ageism, people have nowhere to turn to once they are discriminated against. EFA's report showed that one in every six employees who experienced discrimination simply moved on from that particular organization; around one sixth made an informal complaint but two-thirds took no action at all.
"Nothing can be done about it," said Chris. "Unlike sexism or racism, ageism is not against the law. You are upset. You are humiliated. But that's all."
Survival tips
The only possible action you can take with this, according to a guide entitled How to Fight Ageism in the Office, is "to consider a sex discrimination claim to the employment tribunals because men often outnumber women among older workers. And employment tribunals are often very sympathetic to sexism claims".
Or, "look for employers who have positive attitudes" for "ageist bosses are often happier to employ people in their 50s on short-term contracts".
Still, none of the above can guarantee you that interview. Experience from those who have survived may help:
"Adjust your attitude," said Chris. "Be prepared to accept a lower position with a lower pay than your former one."
"Don't put your age in the application form," said Jenny. "Then you might get an interview.
The most important thing is to "be a fighter and keep trying", advised Jenny. "I did several cleaning jobs while I kept trying. Then I found a job teaching three mornings at a college. Of course it was not enough to make a living. The point is that when you are in a job, it is easier to find another one. Not long after that, I found a permanent job at a primary school to teach art which I quite enjoy."
Sometimes, misfortune can prove to be a blessing in disguise. When Jackie Jacbes wanted to return to full-time work after raising a family at the age of 39, her experience of being discriminated against because of her age led to her setting up 40s People, the only recruitment agency on Cannon Street in Central London to help older people get jobs.
"What you need to do is to change the way you look at your redundancy," said Ed, who later established a company with his two other friends. "You think, 'Thank God, I didn't like that job anyway.' Then you can think of starting your own business, with the sum of money you get from the company when you are sacked, plus your experience in the industry."
Bosses like Ed usually are invaluable. Having a good understanding of age discrimination, they usually will hire people who have similar experience.
"The truth is that it is the employers' great asset to employ people over 50s," told Ed. "If they think the boss is good, they are willing to go through all the bad things with you together. They are devoted and loyal."
So, the future may still be bright for people over 50. As the population ages, employers will have fewer young workers to pick from. Those younger employers who will be old by then will change their attitudes towards older workers.
In fact, the British Government has taken a significant step to increase the number of older people in jobs. A new scheme to help the people over 50 out of long-term unemployment was launched in April 2000 as part of the welfare to work programme. New Deal 50+, the scheme for the jobless in UK, will provide personal advice, job search help, a training grant of up to ￡750 to anyone on benefits who is over 50 and has been unemployed for six months or more.
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