According to research, age bias and discrimination within UK workplaces is perpetuated by HR departments, with younger HR leaders less willing to champion the ageing workforce.

When asked how motivated they are to hire 55-75 year-olds, less than a quarter (24 per cent) of HR leaders aged 25-30 said “very”, compared to 63 per cent of respondents aged 46-50, reflecting a 39 per cent swing in the inclination to recruit older workers based on their own age. 

Commissioned by over-50s platform 55/Redefined and charity ProAge, the ‘Shut Out, Forced Out and Overlooked’ report highlighted the prevalence of ageism in UK workplaces. Beyond age bias, and despite workers in their 20s being twice as likely to take sick leave than their older colleagues 37 per cent of employers cited health or illness as a major concern to recruiting those from the 55-75 age bracket, while a fifth (21 per cent) of employers cited ‘lack of energy’ as a disadvantage to hiring over-55s. 

In fact, 65 per cent of 55-75 year olds think the job market is closed to them and nearly a quarter (24 per cent) felt forced to retire before they wanted to. However, 56 per cent of employees want to continue working beyond the age of 65 and 90 per cent believe they have the transferable skills to change industry or job.

Separate research by HR DataHub – an organisation that provides technology powered HR insights and guidance to employers – also suggests that age as a diversity and inclusion (D&I) characteristic is being overlooked by HR departments. 

HR DataHub discovered that, according to its Outlook 2022 report, only 9 per cent or fewer than one in 10 (nine per cent) senior HR, D&I, reward and people professionals – including 12 FTSE100 – disclose data on age externally and more than two-thirds (67 per cent) said they have no intention to report on it in future.

Lyndsey Simpson, founder and CEO at 55/Redefined, said: “It’s clear that age discrimination is being perpetuated by those in control of HR policy and standards. This could perhaps be an unintended consequence of an imbalance in focus on other protected diversity and inclusion characteristics. HR leaders and CEOs must address this issue urgently, realising the talent and ambitions of older people – bringing age bias in the workplace to an end.”

David Whitfield, CEO and co-founder of HR DataHub, said: “It is astonishing that so many of the UK’s largest organisations have no intention to report on age. Especially given the data is so easily accessible for everyone. Organisations that fail to stamp out ageism will not only miss out on a huge pool of talent, but they will fail to create a workplace that is genuinely fair and equal. The ultimate risk will come from the accountability of stakeholders. 

“In recent years, there has been growing pressure to progress other protected D&I characteristics, such as ethnicity, LGBTQ+ and gender. While there is no denying the importance of this work, by consequence, age has been shunned.”

To help HR leaders, people managers and D&I practitioners eradicate ageism from the workplace, HR DataHub has partnered with 55/Redefined. Simpson added: “Knowledge is power, particularly when it comes to understanding your workforce. As our working age population shrinks and our population of over-60s rises, age should be top of the agenda.  At a time when we are all living and working longer, it is in all our interests to stamp out this unfair and unacceptable discrimination.”