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The effects of age discrimination legislation on workplace practice: a New Zealand case study
Author(s) -
Wood Geoffrey,
Harcourt Mark,
Harcourt Sondra
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
industrial relations journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.525
H-Index - 3
eISSN - 1468-2338
pISSN - 0019-8692
DOI - 10.1111/j.1468-2338.2004.00319.x
Subject(s) - legislation , context (archaeology) , enforcement , age discrimination , business , law , labour law , political science , public relations , history , archaeology
This article explores the effects of the legal prohibition of age discrimination in New Zealand, based on a survey of the recruiting practices of individual organisations. Its findings indicate that many firms continue to breach the law through a continued emphasis on age during the recruitment process. Age‐related information is directly or indirectly requested from a sizeable percentage of job applicants. The findings highlight the importance of the socio‐economic context in which legislation is enacted. As with unwritten rules, the impact of law in a specific context is inevitably circumscribed by the deeply embedded nature of practice, especially if enforcement is lax.