In some countries, it is illegal to reject someone applying for a job because of his or her age. Do you think this is a positive or negative development?

It is now fairly common to exclude the

age

of a job applicant from an application form so that the selection of a candidate is not based on

this

criteria. I view

this

as a positive development. There are certain reasons that an employer may feel

this

is not a step in the right direction. The main one is that they may feel they need to know a

person

’s

age

because the job is not suitable for an older

person

.

This

,

for example

, could be because they think there is a need to be very physically fit,

such

as work within the construction industry where heavy lifting is needed or other work where someone is expected to be very active all day.

However

, as a general rule it is better if rejection on the basis of

age

is not permitted.

Although

some jobs do need younger people, many employers will simply reject a candidate unfairly.

For instance

, they may simply be concerned about the image of the company and think a younger

person

will fit the face of the company better even though an older

person

may be just as capable of carrying out the role. Another reason is that older people have things to offer employers that younger people may not be able to. If it is a job within a particular field,

such

as law or accountancy,

then

the older

person

will have many skills in

this

area through working

in

Suggestion

on

it for so long.

In addition

to

this

, they will

also

bring a wealth of life experiences that a younger

person

may not have, which is

also

beneficial to any role. All in all, it is

therefore

a positive development if employers cannot reject someone because of their

age

. Hopefully more countries will adopt

this

rule so older people have equal opportunities everywhere.