Denmark bans companies from asking age of job applicants
Companies in Denmark are no longer permitted to ask the age of candidates applying for jobs with them.
The law, which was adopted in parliament in March, came into effect on Friday.
According to the law, applicants should no longer give their age when applying for jobs. The objective of the new law is to prevent employers from rejecting applicants because of their age.
Commenting in March when parliament passed the law, Employment Minister Peter Hummelgaard said that he hoped the law would give older members of the labour market better conditions when looking for work.
“I appreciate that this ban won’t do everything but it does send a strong signal,” Hummelgaard said.
“With this legislation, we want to avoid employers filtering their pile of applications by just looking at birth dates before reading through them, and that they actually address the competencies of the applicant,” he said.
A recent survey found that the number of people who feel discriminated based on their age when applying for work has fallen, even though the law had yet to take effect.
Trade union HK Privat, which represents around 100,000 private sector workers found that 17 percent of its members said they had experienced age discrimination, in a survey. A similar survey conducted last autumn returned a result of 24 percent to the same question.
Employment figures also show a positive trend in the area.
Unemployment and long-term unemployment among 50-59 year-olds has fallen by 50 percent within the last year, news wire Ritzau writes.
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The law, which was adopted in parliament in March, came into effect on Friday.
According to the law, applicants should no longer give their age when applying for jobs. The objective of the new law is to prevent employers from rejecting applicants because of their age.
Commenting in March when parliament passed the law, Employment Minister Peter Hummelgaard said that he hoped the law would give older members of the labour market better conditions when looking for work.
“I appreciate that this ban won’t do everything but it does send a strong signal,” Hummelgaard said.
“With this legislation, we want to avoid employers filtering their pile of applications by just looking at birth dates before reading through them, and that they actually address the competencies of the applicant,” he said.
A recent survey found that the number of people who feel discriminated based on their age when applying for work has fallen, even though the law had yet to take effect.
Trade union HK Privat, which represents around 100,000 private sector workers found that 17 percent of its members said they had experienced age discrimination, in a survey. A similar survey conducted last autumn returned a result of 24 percent to the same question.
Employment figures also show a positive trend in the area.
Unemployment and long-term unemployment among 50-59 year-olds has fallen by 50 percent within the last year, news wire Ritzau writes.
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