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Where am I now? Lawlink > Anti-Discrimination Board > Publications > Age discrimination and job advertisements
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Age discrimination and job advertisements
 Introduction
Using the words 'junior,' 'mature,' or 'senior'
Preferred wording
Introduction
The media will be acting against the law if they publish or broadcast unlawful job advertisements. So they are within their rights to refuse any advertisement they think shows any intention of breaking the anti-discrimination law. Using the words 'junior,' 'mature,' or 'senior'
You must not use words like ‘junior, ‘mature,’ or ‘senior,’ to indicate that you are looking for people in a particular age group unless the position is covered by one of the following exceptions:
- when advertising for and employing a ‘junior’ and you will be paying them ‘junior’ rates, provided they are under 21 years old.
- when advertising for and employing someone of a particular age (or age group) where age is an essential and relevant part of the job - for authenticity in a play or other form of entertainment; or where the job is to promote the welfare of, or provide education for, a particular age group and the most effective way of doing this is to employ someone of the same age group.
- when refusing to employ children under the age of 14 years and nine months (except in certain legally defined circumstances). It is only possible to employ children as casuals if an employer has a licence to do so, or if the child gets permission to leave school early.
- when advertising for and employing someone of a particular age or age group where another law requires you to set age limits/bands for the job.
Saying something like ‘this is a junior position in the division,’ or ‘this is a senior position in the company’ or using titles such as ‘Junior Sales Clerk’ or ‘Senior Officer’ is not against the law because you are simply indicating the position’s level in the hierarchy. Similarly, it would be OK to say that you are looking for someone with a ‘mature/approach/attitude/understanding’ because both younger and older people could have these qualities.
If you ask for a particular number of years, amount or lack of experience you need to make sure that this number of years, amount of or lack of experience is reasonable ‘in all the circumstances’ for that particular job. This is because this type of requirement is likely to favour older or younger age groups.
For some jobs, you will be able to clearly show that the particular job requires a set amount or lack of experience. In these cases it will be OK to stipulate this. In other cases it might be better to ask for a particular type or types of experience. For example, it might be better to ask for ‘successful sales experience in a number of different settings’ or ‘wide-ranging’ or ‘considerable/extensive/successful sales experience’ rather than ’10 years’ sales experience.’
Similarly, you can only ask for qualifications that take time to get (because this is likely to favour older people) if you can show that the particular qualifications are ‘reasonable in all the circumstances’ for that particular job. In other words, if you ask for qualifications that take time to get you need to make sure that these qualifications are appropriate for that particular job, rather than just something you think might produce a better type of applicant.Preferred wording
| Original Wording | OK/Not OK | Preferred Wording |
| Junior | OK if referring to ‘junior’ positions with a ‘junior award’ or when indicating the position’s level in the hierarchy |  |
| Senior | OK if referring to the position’s level in the hierarchy | |
| Senior/mature | Not OK when looking for people in a particular age group | Use words like: mature
approach, attitude or understanding |
| Specifying a particular number of years experience | OK if it is reasonable in all the circumstances otherwise it won’t be OK. | Use words like: successful, wide-ranging or considerable experience |
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