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Employers are accused of sticking 'their heads in the sand', as they fail to gear up for legislation that will outlaw ageism at work, according to a special report from the Recruitment Confidence Index.

Its research into attitudes to age among nearly 1,500 employers found that only just over a third (39%) have introduced age policies at work, with a further one in four planning to introduce policies over the next 12 months.

But, nearly one in three - 30% - have no clear plans, despite looming legislation that will make it illegal to refuse someone a job, promotion, training or benefits, because of their age, from October 2006.

The research also reveals that hundreds of bosses are unaware of the ageing workforce and the declining pool of younger talent. One in five employers say they have no knowledge of population changes and one in four claim any such changes will have no impact on their businesses.

The Recruitment Confidence Index (RCI) is a quarterly survey of UK directors’ and managers’ expectations of changes in recruitment activity and business conditions. It is produced by Cranfield School of Management and the Daily Telegraph, in association with Personnel Today magazine.

The research special into employers’ attitudes towards age is a repeat of research carried out in autumn 2003 - with the survey finding little change over the past 15 months.

Commenting on the findings, Shaun Tyson, Professor of Human Resource Management at Cranfield School of Management said: “There is clearly a sizeable minority of employers for whom ageism is a non-issue. They are making a big mistake because attitudes towards age are not just about compliance with the law, but are about the availability of high quality people in the workforce. Good people come in every race, gender and age.”

The research shows that age stereotyping affects young and old alike. Nearly half - 45% - of respondents say older workers lack technological skills; 23% say older people are slow to learn and 22% say older people are not interested in training. Younger workers on the other hand are viewed as ‘inexperienced’ by 60% of employers, prone to take sick leave (52%) and as ‘unreliable’ (37%).

However, a sizeable number of employers are also aware of the benefits an age diverse workforce can bring to the business. They say age diversity reduces turnover (53%) improves morale (41%), raises productivity (35%) and increases profits (16%).

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