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Practical advice on tackling age discrimination

Do you want a job selling teenage frocks or sex toys? Jo McCarthy, a solicitor specialising in employment rights, shows how anything might be possible under the new law

There’s a trendy new boutique opening on your local high street, ‘Frocks R Us’. They’re advertising for a part-time assistant. You’re 62, you’ve always been interested in clothes.

You have the retail experience - you worked for 12 years with Jaeger before you had children. You would never wear purple with a red hat. You apply for the job. What happens?

You get the job. Lovely. Enjoy!

You don’t. You suspect that as the clothes are aimed at the younger end of the market that age could be the reason. However your dress sense is second to none.

Your teenage granddaughter takes you along as her shopping advisor regularly. In any event you’re not being asked to model the clothe… You may be the victim of unlawful discrimination.

I suggest you ask your teenage granddaughter to apply for the job if she’s over 16. If she’s offered an interview (and she doesn’t have the retail experience that you do), then it’s not looking good for Frocks R Us.

You’re rather down at mouth about the Frocks R Us job and you decide to hot things up a bit.

You have seen a rather interesting advertisement for a company called RubberLace Ltd selling what they describe as “the adventurous end of women’s underwear and associated products” on a party plan basis.

There is nothing you don’t know about party plan -you were known as the Tupperware Queen in the 70s You feel you have the experience, enthusiasm, and sense of fun that such a job would entail. You apply. Let’s see what happens….

You get the job. Yippee! Hopefully you’ll be able to add Rubber Queen to your list of titles!

You don’t. Again you suspect that your age has been the determining factor. You wonder if some 25 year old looked at your application and thought “surely people don’t still….y’know….at 62! “

This time I suggest you leave your teenage granddaughter out of it! Try your daughter or daughter-in-law. See what happens. RubberLace’s hasty decision may just bounce back on them.

The examples given above are, of course, tongue in cheek. However they are an attempt to demonstrate how these new Regulations present a golden opportunity to break down stereotypical assumptions about who should do what, and why.

If a man can work in a bra shop (yes, it’s been litigated – he can!), then surely a 62 year old can work in a teenage fashion sales or even the sex toy industry.

Practical Help and Advice

If you encounter a situation where you believe you have been discriminated against on the grounds of your age then you should seek urgent legal advice as there will be strict time limits for when you can make claims for compensation.

Yes, it’s true, legal cases can become complicated and expensive, but this is not always the case. There is plenty of initial free advice available and the “getting help” box gives practical information about obtaining details of your rights.

Jo McCarthy works at Richard Hutchinson & Co. employment law specialists in Nottingham. She also teaches at Nottingham Law School.

This article was created: 21 July 2006.
This article was last edited: 6 November 2006.

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