LONDON, 12 June 2006 - UK organisations are largely unprepared to comply with the looming anti-age discrimination regulations when recruiting and selecting staff, according to Water for Fish, a leading people and organisation consulting company.

The firm conducted an audit of the May editions of two of the leading HR trade publications and one specialist publication within a niche sector of the HR market, to reveal that over two thirds (68%) of job advertisements placed by organisations for HR-related roles were likely to fall foul of the incoming Regulations on 1 October 2006, leaving companies vulnerable to expensive and embarrassing legal action.  The non-compliance rates varied between 63% and a staggering 91% in one case, considerably worse than for adverts in the broader management job market (27%)

Commenting on the initial findings, Nina Baum, Consultant at Water for Fish said: “It’s shocking to think that organisations advertising in the HR space are even more ill prepared than organisations advertising in the general jobs market, especially in light of the fact that you would expect the HR industry to be at the forefront of good practice in the run up to 1 October.

“What’s even more worrying is that a non-compliant advert is just the tip of the iceberg – if a company’s recruitment advert is blatantly open to interpretation of age discrimination, it’s even more likely that the recruitment and selection policies and practices behind the scenes will not stand up to scrutiny. As it is usually the HR department that drives these activities, then they should be role models for the rest of the organisation.”

Typical pitfalls for companies placing adverts include references which can be perceived to screen out candidates based on their age, as opposed to their skills or capabilities.   Some aspects of the regulations are clear cut: companies may not specify an age bracket for target candidates or ask for their date of birth in an application form (unless it is required for the purposes of biographical monitoring and is requested separately to the candidate’s application).  Nor can companies ask for a specific length of experience, as this is also deemed to be discriminatory under the new rules.  There are a number of grey areas, however, which companies can fall into, such as asking for date bound information that could reveal age and therefore mean the organisation is not complying with the regulations. Additionally, organisations that are seeking candidates displaying characteristics associated with particular age groups could be deemed to fall foul of the regulations.  Examples found in the HR press in May included:

• Looking for a bright, young graduate
• A candidate with a mature outlook"
• Numerous other adverts asked for 15, 10 or eight years of experience, or two years post qualification experience

Miss Baum added: “It would be foolish for companies to think that it is enough simply to re-word their adverts or policies in line with the regulations, and that preparations for the new legislation will therefore take no time at all. Companies need to review their whole recruitment selection process now if they want to ensure that they are going to comply with the new age discrimination regulations. Ultimately, the burden of proof rests with the employer, and the company therefore needs to be able to provide clear, documented evidence of fair and objective practice to ensure legal defensibility in this area.  Organisations need to act now if they are to avoid these pitfalls.”

Recent Employment Tribunal Statistics show that the median payout for successful discrimination claims is between £6,200 and £7,500. Failure to comply with the looming legislation could mean companies find themselves not only running up expensive legal bills but also facing embarrassment and damage to their reputations.  This embarrassment could be compounded if the discrimination in question related to a role in the very department that should be promoting best practice elsewhere in the organisation!

The checklist below outlines the scope of work that every employer should undertake in order to ensure they are compliant with the new law:

• Conduct a legal review of policies relating to diversity, recruitment, promotion and training
• Analyse and document the business needs that dictate role requirements
• Ensure that where adverts are placed and how adverts are written are equally accessible to all age groups
• Ensure that selection decisions are guided by consistent, objective, fair and documented selection processes
• Ensure that all hiring managers are appropriately skilled to avoid discriminatory decisions and help ensure legal defensibility
• Track diversity data to monitor the inclusiveness of the organisation and help identify where changes may need to be made

About Water for Fish
Water for Fish is a leading people and organisation consulting company which helps private and public sector clients shape their organisation to achieve their business goals. It does this through three service areas; Transformation - achieving the right shape and feel of an organisation; Assessment - getting the right people in the right roles; and, Learning - developing people in line with an organisation's ambitions.

Aon Consulting acquired Water for Fish in January 2006 to strengthen its Human Resources (HR) Solutions business, offering the firm a strong platform from which to build on its market share in the HR Consultancy area.   The combined operation, under the Water for Fish brand name, is run from Aon Consulting’s existing offices in London and Farnborough, and the Water for Fish office in Henley, bringing Aon Consulting’s regional network of offices to 12.   Ben Thornton, previously Executive Director in Aon’s HR Solutions practice, heads up the new Water for Fish group.

About Aon Consulting
Aon Consulting is a leading human capital consultancy, helping organisations of every size to attract and keep the employees they need. We advise on all aspects of employment, including health-related insurance and risk; employee compensation and pensions; human resource strategy planning; job design and change management; and staff assessment and legal issues. Aon Consulting is a division of Aon, one of the UK’s largest insurance brokers and providers of risk management services and a major force in reinsurance and the UK human capital consulting market.  Aon Consulting Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Services Authority.

About Aon
Aon Corporation a leading provider of risk management services, insurance and reinsurance brokerage, human capital and management consulting, and specialty insurance underwriting. The company employs approximately 53,000 professionals in its 600 offices in more than 120 countries.  Backed by broad resources, industry knowledge and technical expertise, Aon professionals help a wide range of clients develop effective risk management and workforce productivity solutions.
 
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