Age Discrimination in Recruitment

Should employers consider giving workers a week off so they can take a break for mental health?

Posted on September 6, 2021 (October 28, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Nike has shut down its global headquarters for a week and thousands of office workers have been given time off in an effort to mitigate burnout from the pandemic. The American sportswear giant's head office employees were encouraged to unwind, de-stress and spend time with loved ones for the last week of August. At the…

Posted on June 26, 2021 (June 28, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Last week I had the pleasure of discussing recruitment, age discrimination and Artificial Intelligence with Roberto Perrone at BBC Three Counties Radio. You can listen to the interview here, but below are my thoughts. The interview was triggered by the experiences of Karen Beecham, a 58 year old buyer who was made redundancy from M&S…

The Elephant in the Room: Loan Elephants – Hybrid Working

Posted on May 31, 2021 (June 22, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Anyone who tells you that they know what the future of work looks like is lying! This blog is particularly focussed on those businesses, or parts of businesses, which are office based. There are of course plenty of people who do not have the opportunity to work from home for whom this debate is not…

The Elephant in the Room: Loan Elephants – Bullying

Posted on May 27, 2021 (June 22, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Do you remember the school bully? If so, why? To misquote Maya Angelou, “It’s not what they said, but how they made you feel”. You forget the actual words, but you are left with the feelings. This is true whether the words are positive or negative and their impact can be felt for years. Bullying…

The Elephant in the Room: Loan Elephants – Bereavement

Posted on May 26, 2021 (June 22, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

There are three things which are certain in life: birth, death and taxes. Everyone’s experience of bereavement is different, and you can’t assume that because you reacted in a certain way, that others will do the same. Unlike some of our other ‘elephants in the room’, as an employer, the chances are you are doing…

The Elephant in the Room: Loan Elephants – Domestic Violence

Posted on May 25, 2021 (June 22, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Many employers would like to bury their head in the sand and believe that what goes on at home has nothing to do with the employee at work, but this is not the case. The first thing to note here is that while it is fair to note that in most domestic violence (DV) and…

The Elephant in the Room: Loan Elephants – Sexual Harassment

Posted on May 24, 2021 (June 22, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

It is naïve to think that sexual harassment does not exist within your workplace. It is naïve to think that you, as the business owner, would know if there is sexual harassment in your business. It is naïve to assume that because you don’t know about it, no one is feeling sexually harassed. It is…

The Elephant in the Room: Protected Characteristics – Parental Status

Posted on May 23, 2021 (June 22, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

Being a working parent is hard! For me, it was actually harder when my kids were at primary school, than when they were at nursery. At nursery, there was cover from 7am – 7pm if I needed it. At primary school there appeared to be a natural assumption that you could drop off at 8:50,…

The Elephant in the Room: Protected Characteristics – Age

Posted on May 22, 2021 (June 22, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

While it is not unlawful for a potential or current employer to ask you your age, it is unlawful for them to make decisions based on your age. On this basis, many hiring employers don’t ask about age because they don’t want to run the risk of an age discrimination from someone before they even…

The Elephant in the Room: Protected Characteristics – Gender

Posted on May 21, 2021 (June 22, 2021) by Donna Obstfeld

There are two ways in which I can tackle the Gender Elephant! The first is in the traditional way; by looking up to see if there is still a glass ceiling. The second is by looking at gender in today’s society i.e. the increasing use of pronoun confirmation in email signatures, LinkedIn profiles etc. I’m…