Ageism at work

I was made redundant last year after working 28 years for the same company. I was a sub- editor for a regional newspaper, and the move to internet publishing has put such jobs in peril. Fair enough — I don’t like it, but that’s the way things are going.

However, I am now 61 and find myself in the nightmarish position of being five years short of state pension age — it’s 66 for me — but unable to find work of any description.

I’m not being picky. I’ve applied for dozens of jobs, and not just in journalism — driver, cleaner, admin worker, you name it — but employers don’t seem to want to know.

Of course, no potential employer can say they think I’m too old, as that’s against the law. But I can’t help concluding that my age is ruling me out of any type of work.

However, I’m not ‘old’. I’m a lively, fit rock music fan (and, incidentally, far younger than many major rock stars) and have a family to support, with a teenage son who has just started university, but employers seem to be view me as an old crock.

Even the man at the Jobcentre appeared to think I should be slowing down and taking things more easily.

I’m continually reading about how life expectancy is rising and people can expect to be working into their 70s. The pension age is rising too, but no one seems to have told employers.

More and more people are going to find themselves in my situation: potentially facing years of severe financial difficulty, while being perfectly willing and able to work.

DAVID BOGLE, Hebden Bridge, W. Yorks.