4 ms·

Fight with HR to hire him: Is age discrimination not illegal in Spain?

yitchelle 12y ago
The legalities of age discrimination is one thing, and what actually happen on the ground is an entirely different matter. They don't even have to give a reason why he is not hired for the positions he has applied for.
- johnward 12y ago
  Even in the US. If you feel like you've missed out on a job based on discrimination you still have to prove it and no employer is going to actually put "too old" in writing.
  - deleted 12y ago
    [deleted]
  - csbrooks 12y ago
    I might be naive, I just feel like the HR department would be unlikely to shoot down a candidate for being too old. A big part of their job is making sure everything is at least documented enough to justify in court if it came to that. Rejecting every old candidate seems like it would make their job a lot harder.
- easytiger 12y ago
  > They don't even have to give a reason Yes they do. There is a lot of legislation about employment and documentation of the processes. Lots of smaller companies don't bother but larger companies are obsessive about it because they wouldn't risk exposing themselves.
  - clarky07 12y ago
    yeah, and those large companies won't write "too old" in the documentation. there are a million reasons not to hire someone, including you simply found someone else you liked better. the case is pretty much unwinnable, why would anyone go through the hassle?
    - easytiger 12y ago
      Which is why people need to expose stuff like this from within their organisations. Like the op.
- patkai 12y ago
  You are right, the practical side is a bit different. Another angle: which unemployed person would like to take the drudgery of a legal action when she has all kinds of other problems? It's easy for us to say he can take legal action but it's great emotional investment in the process, which might be used in job search instead. For society it's best if we sue, but for the individual it's very straining.
Kurtz79 12y ago
It is subtler than that, I think. It´s not really age discrimination as much as a particular (stupid) view of what carrer development should be for a technical guy, in some places. That is to say, it is expected that in your late carrer you moved into a management position of some sort, and not stayed "simply" a developer. Again, stupid and counterproductive. BTW by "fight" I mean metaphorically, of course.

The legalities of age discrimination is one thing, and what actually happen on the ground is an entirely different matter. They don't even have to give a reason why he is not hired for the positions he has applied for.

johnward 12y ago
Even in the US. If you feel like you've missed out on a job based on discrimination you still have to prove it and no employer is going to actually put "too old" in writing.
- deleted 12y ago
  [deleted]
- csbrooks 12y ago
  I might be naive, I just feel like the HR department would be unlikely to shoot down a candidate for being too old. A big part of their job is making sure everything is at least documented enough to justify in court if it came to that. Rejecting every old candidate seems like it would make their job a lot harder.
easytiger 12y ago
> They don't even have to give a reason Yes they do. There is a lot of legislation about employment and documentation of the processes. Lots of smaller companies don't bother but larger companies are obsessive about it because they wouldn't risk exposing themselves.
- clarky07 12y ago
  yeah, and those large companies won't write "too old" in the documentation. there are a million reasons not to hire someone, including you simply found someone else you liked better. the case is pretty much unwinnable, why would anyone go through the hassle?
  - easytiger 12y ago
    Which is why people need to expose stuff like this from within their organisations. Like the op.
patkai 12y ago
You are right, the practical side is a bit different. Another angle: which unemployed person would like to take the drudgery of a legal action when she has all kinds of other problems? It's easy for us to say he can take legal action but it's great emotional investment in the process, which might be used in job search instead. For society it's best if we sue, but for the individual it's very straining.

Kurtz79 12y ago

It is subtler than that, I think. It´s not really age discrimination as much as a particular (stupid) view of what carrer development should be for a technical guy, in some places. That is to say, it is expected that in your late carrer you moved into a management position of some sort, and not stayed "simply" a developer. Again, stupid and counterproductive. BTW by "fight" I mean metaphorically, of course.