House leader calls for overhaul of recruitment protocols

“This law should not just stop the practice of requiring job applicants to indicate their age in their resumes but it should also end the wrong mindset that old people can no longer contribute to help their families and their communities,” Nograles said. (Photo: Cong. Karlo Nograles/ Facebook)

MANILA—A leader of the House of Representatives is calling for a major overhaul of recruitment manuals and protocols following the issuance of the Implementing Rules and Regulations (IRR) for Republic Act No. 10911 or the anti-age discrimination law.

In a statement on Tuesday, House appropriations committee chair and Davao City Rep. Karlo Nograles lauded Labor Secretary Silvestre Belo for leading the swift completion of the IRR, saying that RA 10911 will not just promote equality in employment but will also increase the country’s work force.

Nograles, one of the proponents of the anti-age discrimination law, said human resource managers and employers should revise the content of their hiring collaterals and advertisements, as well as change their mindset in hiring new employees, especially with the IRR now in place.

“This law should not just stop the practice of requiring job applicants to indicate their age in their resumes but it should also end the wrong mindset that old people can no longer contribute to help their families and their communities,” Nograles said.

Under the anti-age discrimination law, it now becomes unlawful to require age limitations in employment and it ensures the protection and the equal treatment of all employees and workers, regardless of age in terms of compensation, benefits, promotion, training and other employment opportunities.

The law covers all employers, labor contractors, sub-contractors and labor organizations, the government and all its branches, subdivisions and instrumentalities, all government-owned and controlled corporations, and government financial institutions, as well as non-profit private institutions or organizations.

It prohibits an employer from requiring the declaration of age or birth date during the application process, declining any employment application due to individual’s age, discriminating against an individual in terms of compensation, terms and conditions, or privileges of employment on account of individual’s age.

It also prohibits the employer to deny any employee’s promotion or opportunity for training because of age, forcibly lay-off on the basis of old age, or impose early retirement on the basis of employee’s or worker’s age.