Should I tell prospective employers my true age

As for disclosing your age, Munton says you may not need to provide your date of birth, but most employers need to know your information if they decide to hire you.

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“Among other things, there are concerns these days about identity theft. Anyone who has official business with us – banks, creditors, pension funds, employers – has good reason to know our real names and date of birth,” he says.

“Many online application forms these days require such details and it is difficult to hit ‘submit’ on an electronic form if you have left any fields blank. Lying on application forms is very unwise as you could later be dismissed for dishonesty.”

But Munton sympathizes with you and agrees that there is still a lot of discrimination in the labor market, especially against older workers and those with health problems.

“Employers aren’t required to consider these factors when making hiring decisions, and there are laws ‘on the books’ that people can use to make complaints. But in reality, it’s very difficult to get someone to hire you if they don’t want to risk hiring someone they think is less suitable than other candidates.”

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As you will understand if you read Work Therapy On a regular basis, it is often the case that a larger systemic problem worsens a particular situation. According to Munton, this is the case here as well.

“Perhaps the problem of the elderly lies mainly in our old age pension system. Raising the retirement age to 67” [which happened in 2023] It created difficulties, especially for people who could not accumulate savings in the retirement system.

“Casual workers and women whose careers are disrupted by caring responsibilities often have little pension to rely on to bridge the gap between work and retirement. And I feel particularly sorry for people in very physically demanding jobs. It must be very difficult to do heavy-duty work into your late 60s.”

However, there is information that can help you navigate this challenging career moment.

“One place to turn for advice and assistance would be any insurance policy linked to the employee’s superannuation fund that covers inability to work,” Munton said.

Send your Work Therapy questions to jonathan@theinkbureau.com.au.

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