Same old faces undermine the argument on ageism

I was wryly amused at your ‘Trade secrets’ article on anti-ageism laws (‘Are you ready? Personnel Today, 4 April).

Although some of the text does infer a relationship with all ages, the most obvious and strikingly eye-catching ‘goof of the month’ has to be the photograph spanning the two pages. I know that some of us age somewhat faster than our peers but, even allowing for this, the photograph is discriminatory in its own right as it does not include any young people.

How did a magazine of the HR profession not spot such an apparently obvious mismatch to the headline and fall into such a trap? The new legislation is aimed at all ages, not just some.

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This really does highlight how easy it is to fall foul of legislation for the most simple of things. Yet more food for the myriad of ever-increasing litigation-chasers who will eventually lead us to a non-innovative, over-sensitised employment market that may not actually employ the right human being for the right role.

Malcolm Houghton-le-Chapple
Head of HR,
Amersham & Wycombe College