TAEN: Women and older employees first victims of job cuts

TAEN: Women and older employees first victims of job cuts

19.8.2008

Job cuts being made in the middle of the credit crunch are likely to affect women and older employees first, a charity has claimed.

London-based charity The Age and Employment Network (TAEN) said that despite the government's recent efforts to tackle discrimination in the workplace, employers have "traditionally" used these methods and are likely to do so now.

Recent figures from the Office for National Statistics show a 9,000 drop in the amount of people aged from 50 onwards in employment from March to June this year.

They also indicated that 8,000 fewer women are in employment as compared to only 1,000 fewer men.

Leon Deakin, solicitor for Thomas Eggar LLP, commented that the results were surprising, but could mean that many older professionals are simply being handed more attractive redundancy packages.

"I anticipate that if discrimination of this sort is taking place it is being done very subtly," he told HRZone.co.uk.

The forthcoming Equalities bill recently came under fire when equality minister Harriet Harman announced firms may be forced to publish details of their employees' wages.

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