It is true that there is blatant and rampant age discrimination here (as demonstrated by job ads). Can anyone explain how Switzerland can get away with this in view of its bilateral agreements with the EU? Are there any proposed measures to outlaw it and change attitudes?


Is anyone interested in getting together to try to do something about it?

I am myself a victim of age discrimination. But accept that I am too expensive, less agile, etc.. I am not angry with the employers.

Do the bilateral agreements say that age discrimination is prohibited? And should the Governments decide everything and curb entrepreneurial freedom?

When I argued this point with a recruiter (that in other countries it is blatant discrimination and even illegal to put age restrictions on a job ad), she said whether it is written down or not, the company posting the job wants a certain age limit, and better to say it up front than to lead someone on only to reject them after the interview when they will find out anyway. Waste of time for both parties.

How hard is for older people to stay in the labor market, beside their age? If somebody remains competitive, is it still difficult to be chosen from swiss companies due to his age?

Job ads often attract hundreds of applications. A junior clerk then does a preliminary sort. One criterion may be an age ceiling. So an older applicant is filtered out before the competence can be assessed.

Applicants who are invited through a network may have an opportunity to demonstrate capability during an interview.

Discrimination does still exist, at least if your interest cross the ones of the Swiss. Professionally - it is not so relevant, as long as you are within large enterprise; small ones are still not used to foreigners. For the start, German/French fluency is the opening door. Did it help? Kind regards, Sandra (Croatian, married to a Dane, since 10 years in Switzerland, fluent in German/French)

I don't have my birthdate on my resume (CV), but I do have my graduation from University year. Will swiss employess just toss it?

Job market in Switzerland tends to follow the "normal" rules of job market elsewhere

I have actually found I am being age discriminated here because I am younger than my colleagues. Apparently it is the norm in Switzerland to decide salaries depending on age and not experience and ability to do the job. Seems a bit unfair to me.....

Definitely. I wished to be considered for a very specific position for which I had absolute first-class knowledge and experience [it was actually at an embassy in Geneva where as an African language speaker it would have been completely to their advantage], only to be told that I could not [would not]? be considered as employees "are actively encouraged to retire at 64". So, one's brain stops working on one's 64th birthday? Eventually, they brought someone in from Africa at huge expense [and loss of life, as the saying goes]? I didn't want to make a fuss, but subsequently wondered whether this is actually against the law = European/Swiss/whatever?

Yes. There is. You still have to submit your year of birth for any kind of application, and I recently was rejected from University for being too old. I am 40.

From my experience and that of many others I know, the surprising answer is that there is a lot less age discrimination than (I at least) would have expected. If you're a good fit for the job, than you have a reasonable chance!

Regardless, forties is still "young"! So, even if there was age discrimination, no need to worry (yet).

My sympathies! Just wait until you are "of retirement age" as I am and then see how very much worse it becomes. After 60 your brain simply stops functioning permanently.
However, another form of discrimination is that I was recently refused a teaching position in Lausanne - 30 minutes by regular boat service across the lake - because "you live in France and we only employ local people". NB, Evian is closer probably Vevey, and certainly closer than Geneva!

Age discrimination in the workplace is unfair for so many reasons. In the UK there is a DIY store called B&Q who encourage older employees. Their oldest member is 99 years old !!.A lot of staff are 50-70. They have so much more knowledge and experience as a lot had worked in the trade and as one guy told me, his job was the only thing that got him out of bed in the morning as his wife had died, his whole social network was through work and he said he would have done the job for even no pay.....