What is middle age?

[CottonTop]

I can understand employers not wanting to hire women who could get pregnant at any time

 

I can see that from a business side but it is illegal here as well. I can remember hiring plenty of women who not only could get pregnant at any time but a few who were clearly already pregnant when they applied for the job.

[Harleyman]

I wondered about that myself when I read it. Over here, ageism in hiring is treated as badly as racism. I remember when I worked in a call center for a wireless phone provider. Myself and another manager were in charge of all recruiting, interviewing and hiring for a period of months and my center manager asked if we could please hire "some old people". She knew just what Harleyman was talking about. Seems the younger folks these days don't have the work ethic that more mature generations have and we could depend on our older employees to be there, be on time and get the job done. Couldn't say the same for the youngsters.

 

A lot too depends on where you live. In all the years I've lived in the US and all the traveling I've done I've never yet received rude or indifferent service anywhere I've been whether ir be a restaurant, a bar, a nightclub or a hotel. People young and older who work in these kinds of jobs have always been unfailingly courteous and friendly I've found

 

A whole lot different in the UK though I've found. When I lived there mediocre service was something I thougt was normal but on visits to the UK over the years some of the attitudes of people who work in the above jobs I've described has been an eye opener. Some of them think they're doing you a favor just by doing their jobs and in a pub you almost have to get down on your knees and beg the bartender for a drink. My impression is that a lot of people who work in these jobs in the UK let the pressure of the job get to them and lose it completely when things get a bit hairy. It's even worse in France where the service employees are just downright rude and arrogant. The only countries I could compare to the US in quality of service are Germany and Austria

[Harleyman]

I can see that from a business side but it is illegal here as well. I can remember hiring plenty of women who not only could get pregnant at any time but a few who were clearly already pregnant when they applied for the job.

 

When I owned a construction business the young lady who was the office help worked right up to a week before giving birth. She was off for two months afterwards and I paid her full salary during that time. I would never have dreamt of replacing her because she got pregnant. She was a wonderful employee and her job was there when she decided to come back

[Rupert_Baehr]

A(n American) potential employer (who subsequently became an employer) asked me to re-submit a resumé because I had included my date of birth and - as he said - he could be accused of unlawfully considering my age [whether he employed me or not] were I to include it in the resumé.

 

It is illegal to consider age for employment in the US (and has been for many years) and it is now illegal to do so in the UK (It was illegal for many years in most of the EU, but the UK obtained dispensation from the directive and dragged their feet.)

 

I saw an advert placed by the Pepsi-Cola company in the UK in 1991. They wanted a manager. The advert specified that the age of the person they were looking for would be between 35 and 40. - Totally illegal in the US and Pepsico is a US company, but they could get away with it in the UK.

 

You can pass all the laws you like; none of them will prohibit discrimination. If an employer wishes to discriminate against a potential employee in the hiring process it is all too easy.

 

As you said, many employers in the US prefer to hire 'oldies' than 'two-six' (I'm too sick to come to work today.)

 

That too is discriminatory, but can you blame them?

[Harleyman]

Emploment rules in the US forbid discrimination on the grounds of age, sex, race, religion or sexual orientation. People who have experienced discrimination on any of the above grounds can and do file lawsuits

[Rupert_Baehr]

Indeed. But there are plenty of ways of disguising the discrimination and (unless the potential employer admits it) they're often un-provable and the person filing the lawsuit has to prove the case.

 

(And you missed a couple of grounds )

 

Then of course there are the loopholes.

 

For instance: It is usually illegal to discriminate against somebody on the grounds of 'National Origin' and the court has extended that to include 'Specific Nationality'.

 

So if you are an American and I was to discriminate against you because at one time you were a Brit, I could be sued successfully for discrimination on the grounds of 'National Origin.'

 

If you were a Brit and I was to discriminate against you on the grounds that you are a Brit, I could be sued successfully because I have discriminated against you on the grounds of specific nationality.

 

But if you were a Brit, if you were a legal resident and if I was hiring somebody to flip burgers, then if I was to refuse to hire you on the grounds that 'You are not a US citizen' I would not be guilty of discrimination, but would be acting within the law.

[Ms Macbeth]

So age diascrimination exists in the UK does it? Quite the opposite here in the States. Many employers are now realizing that seniors make better more reliable employees than the Acne Brigade.

 

The oldies still have the work ethic. An employer who hires seniors doesn't answer the phone first thing on Monday morning and hears a mumbled excuse from some young employee about "Not feelind well today. Wont be in for a couple of days" (read: I drank too much last night and feel as sick as a dog this morning)

 

I got my last job here in Sheffield at the age of 61. I also moved jobs in my 50s, and got several promotions up to retiring from it at 60. I don't agree that all employers in the UK are ageist, but I think that us older people who do want to work need to keep our skills updated and our minds open!

[Ms Macbeth]

I think being a granny would make me feel old

 

I've been with my grandchildren (18 months and 3 and a bit) at Chatsworth today, and they make me feel young! I love being a granny!

[cressida]

I've been with my grandchildren (18 months and 3 and a bit) at Chatsworth today, and they make me feel young! I love being a granny!

 

What do they call you, I think it would be actually being called 'granny' that seems ageing

[Rupert_Baehr]

Middle Age is a myth.

 

A Myth is a female Moth.