Once in a while Nanny does try to do the right thing, and make a positive difference to our lives.Eh?
What's that you say Ken?
Straight up folks, I kid you not.
One such attempt has been her work in trying to reduce the amount of age discrimination in the workplace. As an aside, a few years go before I hit 40, I was talking to a so called "recruitment professional" (worse than estate agents in my view) about consultancy. His advice was that once you are over 35 (yes 35) you are too old!
However, I digress, as with all of Nanny's attempts to improve things they tend to go wrong; because they hit the wrong target, or because the legislation is so sloppily drafted that the practice becomes over officious and over prescriptive.
Nanny's anti age discrimination laws are a case in point. Aside from the fact that age discrimination is currently hard wired into all aspects of society (eg adverts for "fun/useful" products only target the under 30's), Nannys new rules have been drafted in such a way as to ensure that people are now applying them in an absurdly prescriptive manner.
Alan & Thomas insurance brokers in Bournemouth have taken Nanny's new rules to heart by banning the circulation of birthday cards for staff to sign, amid concern that light hearted "ageist" comments could unwittingly breach Nanny's new age discrimination laws.
Seemingly remarks such as "It's better to be over the hill than under it" or references to bus passes could cause offence, the company said following legal advice.
The new laws allow staff to take action against their company, if they feel they have been harassed or victimised due to their age.
Alan & Thomas will now send a card to each staff member on their birthday, signed by the directors.
Personal cards from individual members of staff are still allowed, as are cakes.
Julian Boughton, the firm's managing director, said:
"The new rules outlawing age discrimination are a potential
minefield for both employers and employees.
Every business should be taking action.
Often employees don't realise the implications of what they are writing."
Neil Gouldson, an employment law specialist at Rowe Cohen, said:
"Gags in birthday cards about people being 'over the hill' will need to be curbed."
For fark's sake!
Meanwhile, if you are elderly and end up in one of Nanny's less well run "homes" for the elderly and infirm; you may well be starved, maltreated or abused. Why doesn't Nanny legislate against that?
Presumably the state pension rules will have to be overhauled as well? Only paying to people over a certain age and with a certain number of years contributions is about as agist as you can get!
ReplyDeleteTo be fair Ken, the age discrimination laws are an EU law (as was the child booster seats) that have never been debated in British Parliament merely enacted as so many others via statutory instrument. The really Nanny is now the EU
ReplyDeleteI don't suppose there is any chance that one might justifiably ignore forms and verbal questions about one's date of birth is there?
ReplyDeleteMust be ageist surely?
Years ago, I interviewed with CNN in Atlanta. My potential manager-to-be mentioned that I was a good bit older than many of the people I would be working with. At this point in my life, I was probably all of 32. "How do you feel about that?" he asked smarmily.
ReplyDeleteI told him that I was aware of this and that I wouldn't have applied for the job if I'd though it would be a problem. We then went through a fairly lengthy series of questions related to age, experience, and income expectations (mine were modest). Finally, he asked me, "And, what year, exactly, did you graduate from high school?"
Uh, yeah.
At this point in my life, I had B.S and M.A degrees, and I'd been writing professionally for about four years; nevertheless, the YEAR of my high school graduation was suddenly relevant. Needless to say, the c*nt didn't give me the job.
My question is, can't Nanny somehow arrange to have me re-interviewed, preferably behind a screen? And no more queries about high school, please.
As a 56 year old male, who has less hair than I did when I was younger, I frequently get remarks about my age. Moreover, some of my friends send me cards of the type mentioned. I do NOT get offended by such humour, and I had never ever considered suing anyone over this. On the contrary, I am very greatful that I have friends thoughtful enough to actually remember my birthday by giving or sending a card. To those who find these cards offensive, I strongly recommend that they GET A LIFE!
ReplyDelete