THE prospect of facing redundancy or being out of work can be daunting whatever your age.

But with four in 10 unemployed older workers out of work for more than a year, Age UK and the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) are launching a best practice protocol which aims to end age discrimination in recruitment and give older people a better chance of finding work.

The guide sets out a series of recommendations which are intended to ensure older jobseekers are not overlooked during the recruitment process and are given the best opportunity to find work. It will be sent to each of REC’s more than 3,300 members and promoted through its membership engagement programme.

The UK’s workforce is ageing: between 2012 and 2022, there will be an additional 3.7million people aged between 50 and State Pension age which, when coupled with the trend of increasing numbers of people working beyond State Pension age, means there will be far more older workers active in the UK.

The ‘Age Opportunity’ best practice guide calls on recruiters to commit to promoting the strong business case for hiring older workers and help their clients, employers, appreciate the many benefits that experienced and skilled workers can bring to organisations.

Notwithstanding the existing law against age discrimination, age can still be a consideration during the recruitment process. Some employers still request a maximum age for candidates and use negative stereotypes of older workers to make hiring decisions.

When Terry King, from Tyersal, was faced with redundancy she was reluctant to turn her back on a career so she set up her own business.

The 62-year-old, who was awarded the OBE for her 20 year career as one of the top project managers in the Department for Work and Pensions, is using her previous experience working in the mature enterprise sector to support the needs and aspirations of the UK's mature citizens through Chapter 3 Enterprise, a community interest company she is busy developing.

Terry welcomes the introduction of the guide saying: "It is about time and, interestingly, I think it is not necessarily about helping older people, it is about the fact that there will not be sufficient younger people to fill the vacancies."

Terry believes the focus will have to be on mature workers to help keep workplaces going.

She also suggests adopting a 'blind recruitment' approach would also prevent discrimination and would mean the employer recruited the best person for the job instead of being swayed by their age.

Minister for Pensions, Ros Altmann says: "It is in the interests of both employers and the economy to ensure older job applicants are not overlooked, as they have a wealth of experience and valuable skills that benefit businesses. Ensuring mature applicants are considered on their merits rather than written off is vital, especially in our ageing population.

"People are not ‘old’ in their fifties and sixties, nor indeed necessarily at ages beyond that either. I hope employers will remain open-minded to recruiting and training older staff, as well as considering flexible working.”

Caroline Abrahams, Charity Director at Age UK, says: "Too many skilled and massively experienced older workers are being written off simply because they are incorrectly considered to be past their prime. It is a terrible waste of so much talent which could be an enormous boon to business and the UK economy.

"I hope this new code of conduct will mean we stamp out age discrimination in the recruitment process once and for all so that those who want to work are given a fair chance in the jobs market."

Kevin Green, chief executive of the Recruitment and Employment Confederation says: "There is an enormous skills crisis looming. The UK is suffering from skills shortages across the economy and at the same time businesses say they can’t take on more work without more staff.

"Older workers have a huge amount of experience, skill and knowledge to offer organisations. To encourage older people to stay in the labour market employers need to be more effective at attracting and retaining older workers. That’s why we are so passionate about working with Age UK on this important initiative.

"Simple things like changes to the language used in job descriptions and where roles are advertised could be significant. We want hirers to work alongside specialist recruiters who understand the benefits that older workers can bring, and who can help tailor job roles to meet their needs. Together we can rid the labour market of outdated prejudice and create a fairer and more productive economy."