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Senior Associate in the Employment team Emma Cocker comments on ageism in the private wealth sector, and how firms should be proactive in tackling this form of discrimination, in eprivateclient.

Emma’s comments were published in eprivateclient, 27 September 2024, and can be found here

“Employing older workers brings tangible benefits. These individuals often possess a depth of experience that younger workers may not, as well as an ability to connect with older clients. This is particularly important as statistics show that older individuals hold the bulk of private wealth within the UK. As such, workplace ageism ought not to be a problem in the private wealth sector, but this is unfortunately not the case. 

“The Equality Act 2010 protects against age discrimination in all aspects of employment including recruitment, terms and conditions, promotions, training and dismissals. Treating a worker less favourably simply because of their age, or in any way connected to their age, is (with very limited exceptions) illegal and should be avoided. Employment Tribunals are quick to root out issues of age discrimination, even in cases where employers attempt to dress up ageism as a legitimate reason for less favourable treatment. Compensation can be high, and cases attract adverse publicity.

“Leaving aside the risks of litigation, firms should be proactive in tackling age discrimination because of the noted benefits of employing older staff. This starts with the recruitment process where “blind recruitment” should be used to eradicate bias based on an applicant’s personal characteristics, including their age. Firms should also use initiatives such as discrimination and diversity training, as well as ensuring workplace policies do not discriminate on the grounds of age. Employee rewards ought to be based on performance and not length of service, and assumptions regarding “slowing down”, or older people being more likely to accept redundancies, should also be avoided.”