Job-hunting seniors face ageism barrier

If you are a senior and want to continue working, even part time, or you want to re-enter the workforce, then let’s be honest, it’s not going to be easy. 

When planning to do so, it is important to understand why many bosses don’t want to employ you. This article might help. 

It seems incredible that Australia’s employers are overlooking experienced workers at a time when their businesses and the national economy are experiencing skills shortages. 

National Seniors Australia (NSA) has a long-time policy of reforming the taxation and workplace systems to enable older people to continue working or return to work. More on that later. 

But it’s not just us calling for change. This latest news arises from research by the Australian Human Rights Commission (AHRC) and Human HR Institute. 

It found almost a quarter (24%) of human resources (HR) professionals now classify workers aged 51–55 as “older” – up 10% on 2023 – and suggests that many employers are sidelining experienced professionals, at a time when we’re told employers are crying out for workers. 

The report, Older and Younger Workers: What Do Employers Think?, provides a snapshot of how older and younger workers are perceived, supported, and included in Australian workplaces. 

Despite more than half of respondents (55%) reporting hard-to-fill vacancies, just 56% said they are open to hiring workers aged 50–64 “to a large extent”. 

This drops to 28% for those 65 and over, with 18% saying they won’t hire this age group. 

At the other end of the age spectrum, the findings were also bleak – just 41% of employers are open to recruiting jobseekers aged 15 to 24 “to a large extent”. 

The AHRC makes the point that the findings come amid renewed national focus on productivity, with the Productivity Commission, the Treasurer, Jim Chalmers, and the Prime Minister, Anthony Albanese, identifying it as one of Australia’s most pressing economic challenges. 

“Our research found some workplaces are hesitant to employ workers over the age of 50, before they are even close to retirement age, or under 24 – including Gen Z’s digital natives,” the CEO of the Australian HR Institute, Sarah McCann-Bartlett, said. 

Age Discrimination Commissioner, Robert Fitzgerald, said the findings highlighted the need for sustained action against ageism. 

“Older and younger workers can be a real advantage for businesses. Age-diverse teams bring different life experiences to the table and are better at solving problems,” he said. 

“Employers need to support inclusive workplaces, where competency isn’t assessed against age or career stage. Providing equal opportunity for people of all ages to remain engaged in meaningful work can enhance productivity, while also helping close skills gaps.” 

The good news is that older workers rated higher for their loyalty, reliability, and ability to cope with stress, compared to younger workers but were rated lower for their ability to use technology and their career ambition.

Only 1% of respondents said older workers had better technology skills, and just 7% thought they had higher energy levels. 

However, nearly 60% said the departure of older workers led to a loss of key skills in the workplace. 

It’s encouraging that businesses are stepping up, with almost three in four now offering flexible working arrangements (72%, up from 49% in 2021) as a recruitment strategy to support age-diverse hiring. 

Flexible work options are a top priority for workers to stay longer, as are higher wages. 

Ms McCann-Bartlett says bosses need to shift their recruitment thinking. 

“If we want to fill our skills gaps and improve productivity, we need to shift from age-based assumptions to evidence-based strategies,” she said. 

“That means designing jobs that keep people engaged across the life cycle, using emerging techniques to attract and retain different generations and building workplace cultures where no one is written off because of the year they were born.” 

You can view the full report here.

National Seniors rejects ageism, especially in the workplace, and supports all older people having the opportunity to work beyond retirement, if that’s their choice. 

However, we are especially concerned about the punitive effect of the income test on Age Pensioners, as it restricts their opportunity to earn beyond the pension means testing. 

Current pension rules act as a dead hand on pensioners seeking jobs, especially in the care economy (aged, disability, and childcare). 

We’ve had success in having the government reduce the impact of the test, allowing pensioners to earn more without having their pension payments reduced. However, a lot more can be done. 

In fact, we’d like to see an end to pension income testing. We support a universal pension, as operates in other countries. This would mean older people would be free to earn as much as they like but would be subject to the usual income taxation rates.