Majority of UK workers say age discrimination is common at work

Three-quarters of 25- to 34-year-olds consider themselves discriminated against for being ‘too young’ and over half of over-55s say they have been discriminated unfavourably

One in five over 55s said that they were told they would be too stuck in their own ways (AFP/Getty)

Almost three-quarters of UK workers feel age discrimination is common in the workplace, with both the youngest and oldest feeling most aggrieved, a new study reveals.

According to job-listings site CV-Library, a third of workers say that they have been rejected for a job because of their age, and over half of workers aged over 55 say they have been discriminated unfavourably because of their age.

The survey of 1,400 workers also found that over half of under 18s feel they’re not taken seriously at work, and three-quarters of 25- to 34-year-olds consider themselves having been discriminated for being “too young”.

Of those, under half said they were told by businesses that they didn’t have enough experience.

Of those who say they were discriminated against for being too old, one in five said that they were told they would be too stuck in their own ways.

“It’s clear that discrimination around age is not only rife in workplaces, but also during the hiring process” said Lee Biggins, founder and managing director of CV-Library. “But, while employers may think their pickiness will secure them the very best workers, they’re actually limiting themselves even further”.

A separate study published by Capita Resourcing in July found that the majority of people over the age of 50 felt some form of bias against them in the workplace.

It is unlawful for employers to discriminate both directly and indirectly by treating applications favourably due to differences in age. Age discrimination in the UK, covered by the 2010 Equality Act, specifically states that a person cannot be treated differently due to his or her age. Implicit bias, on the other hand, may not always be provable by the law.