Is ageism in the workplace a thing of the past? Photograph: Martin Godwin
Bring out the bunting, crack open the fizz. Age discrimination is no more. Older workers, younger workers, one and all, can rejoice that our careers will proceed unhindered by grubby prejudice, maybe.
Yesterday we learned that 70-year-old fitness instructor Celia Powis will be going back to work, teaching popmobility classes in Worthing Leisure Centre. It seems that as Powis's 70th birthday approached, Worthing borough council decided not to renew her contract. Powis fought the decision, arguing that she can work just as hard as anyone else and that she knows better than her employer whether she is capable of continuing to do her job.
The ruling of the employment tribunal evidently agreed with her. The council has agreed to extend Powis's contract, and she is now celebrating a triumph for employee rights. "It is a victory for what should have been right and fair," she says.
"Right and fair" cuts both ways. Younger workers are standing up for their rights too. Earlier this month, 19-year-old Leanne Wilkinson won £16,000 in compensation after the engineering firm she worked for in Newcastle sacked her for being too young.
So it's good news for Powis and Wilkinson - but is it good news for the rest of us? At the Guardian Work section we get a lot of letters about age discrimination. Many people clearly feel that the regulations brought into force in October 2006 are not doing enough to protect them. Our pages suggest that older workers who are made redundant find it particularly tough to find a new job. A survey last year by the Employers Forum on Age found that 59% of workers could bear witness to ageist behaviour. And too many of us seem to feel under pressure to retire at 65, or even earlier.
The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 state that it is unlawful to discriminate against workers under 65 on the grounds of age. But do the new laws have any effect without a costly tribunal, and the accompanying media coverage?
It's good to know that these days you don't have to print your date of birth on your CV, but do we really need to take our employers to court, just for them to treat us fairly?
