Business owners trying to avoid falling foul of upcoming age discrimination laws by employing older staff could end up getting sued by younger job candidates, it has been claimed.
Employment law experts Croner say that many employers have the misconception that they will be complying with the new legislation if they boost their quota of older workers.
However, this is not the case and if they give the job to someone on account of their seniority they could end up facing legal action instigated by the younger candidates.
The warning follows research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), which showed that 70% of UK employers are actively seeking to recruit the over 55s.
When the new regulations come in to force in October, actively targeting older or younger employees may not be lawful.
Richard Smith, employment services director at Croner, said: “Whilst targeting and encouraging applications from under-represented age groups is allowed - and something we advise our clients to do - active recruiting of specific ages is not, and may lead to claims.
“Complying with the new legislation is going to be a fine balance for employers who want to be positive about age and attract older or younger workers, but who need to ensure that in so doing they don't discriminate or portray a discriminatory attitude in their recruitment methods.”
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