By BarbaraW56

15 November 2007 14:40

I was recently made redundant after 27 years as a driver. I'd have liked to retrain but my employer says I am too old. Is this right?

What is this?

 

Yours Expert Answer

By Equity Release Expert

You appear to have been the victim of age discrimination, contrary to regulations that came into force late last year. These ban an employer from treating an employee less favourably on grounds of age. 

With any redundancy, the employer must go through a formal process that includes the employee being assessed and consulted. The employee should be asked about other employment that might be suitable so that the employer has all the information available when making a selection for redundancy.

Your employer has made two mistakes. First, you've been assessed solely as a delivery driver and not as a multi-skilled person. No employer can view an employee simply by their job title. We all have different abilities and interests and these need to be explored. Second, there's been an automatic assumption that your age means you're unable or unwilling to learn.

Your employer ought to have discussed these issues with you to find out what other experience you had and also what you'd like to do and how much you were prepared to commit in terms of retraining and developing your skills.

Simply assuming that someone of a certain age is beyond retraining or isn't interested in personal development is contrary to the regulations as well as being morally wrong.

Once your employer had established that you were willing to retrain, vacancies should have been considered to see what could be made available.