Age discrimination can terminate your career
their own way, and aren’t something new. But Ms Buckett says it does mean younger managers have to be aware of what older workers value and what motivates them, and how they can be rewarded, such as with flexible working hours, and a bit of recognition.
She says smart organisations such as Orion Energy and ANZ National are redesigning jobs and workplaces to keep their mature workers.
‘‘They understand and appreciate the value of retaining experience.’’
She says employers have to work to look after older workers, as they do every other group in an organisation.
‘‘One of the main issues is what is the obligation of the employer to keep the employment situation relevant for everybody and making sure they’re not selecting on the basis of age.’’
She says training is another big issue for organisations who appear to be getting rid of older people, using the excuse that their job skills are no longer relevant.
But organisations themselves are to blame if they let their staff get into a situation where their job skills aren’t right for the job they have been employed to do, Ms Buckett says.
‘‘There is a view that people of a certain age are not capable of being retrained . . . there is a whole lot of myths around these things.’’
However, proving age discrimination is the reason behind someone getting laid off can be tricky, Ms Buckett says.
One thing to see is if there is a pattern in the people who are being laid off, and if it is the older workers, there could be a case.
Someone who suspects they may lose their job should not take it sitting down.
‘‘Come and consult somebody like myself and we can then drill down and find out what the real reason is.’’
And likewise, if someone is missing out on promotions, that could be age-related as well.
‘‘If you’re consistently being overlooked you’ve got to see why. It might become very obvious. But it’s not an easy area,’’ Ms Buckett says.
‘‘It sits in the grey rather than the black and white.’’ www.buckettlaw.co.nz www.ageconcernwellington.co.nz