Organizational reactions to UK age discrimination legislation

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use neo‐institutional theory to examine organizational responses to the age discrimination at work legislation, recently introduced in the UK. The paper examines reasons managers advanced for the introduction of human resource (HR) policies about age discrimination, in addition to legal compliance. Design/methodology/approach A longitudinal survey of HR managers and four case studies within a range of UK organizations are used to elicit data on organizational responses. Findings Unsurprisingly, the introduction of the new legislation has created strong coercive pressure on organizations. However, the results also provide evidence of mimetic and normative pressures within organizations. There is a complex range of factors that influence changes to policies and practices. In addition, the impact of organizational context, manager stereotypes and public and private sector differences are examined. The implications for explaining coercive change in organizations in terms of different legal philosophies and for future research are discussed. Originality/value This paper adds to a currently sparse literature on the introduction of age discrimination policies by organizations and uses a neo‐institutional framework to examine the forces that may affect the introduction of these policies over and above legislation.

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