9094 age discrimination

Interesting question. Is there then no age discrimination act in Italy as is the UK???

Hi - you are very right to complain. It seems Italy missed the memo from the EU on age discrimination (or any other type of discrimination for that matter). They will often write in the ad that what they are looking for are females with a nice presence, people under 30, etc, etc

Hope you manage to find something you enjoy

At 35 I am also considered too old for many jobs I see advertised. A lot of it is to do with "apprenticeships". You can take someone on in Italy as an apprentice in Italy for many different positions - barman, shop assistant etc and the taxes and contributions paid by the employer are drastically lower than taking on a non-apprentice hence many positions advertising a max age of 26 or 29 etc. Reading the job adverts in my local paper makes for rather depressing reading - from the few jobs advertised you usually have to have very specific experience - ie went to the right school from the age of 14 just to get a job as an office clerk. They also seem to want a lot of dishwashers - but they must have experience :laughs: (although I daresay I could say that I have washed plenty of dishes in my time!)The jobs advertised are often things like working in an estate agents on commission only basis, delivering fliers, doing promotions in supermarkets (hence the bella presenza :yes:). Not fun looking for a job in Italy :no:

I met an Italian-American guy in his fifties on a flight recently who was a Professor at the American University in Rome. Regardless of the age discrimination, he said it was pointless for a non Italian really to try to find a job the Italians prefer their own. The only way is to apply to an English speaking Institution/company which is what he did.

I don't know if you are in a town/city but if so why not consider teaching English, which has been discussed at great length on this Forum.

My (Italian) wife and I have more or less decided to up sticks and leave again, after being here for a year. She is a qualified journalist (TV and print), has run a communications agency, been an educational consultant, but at 46 nobody wants to know.
I too was shocked to read in the local newspapers, among the many ads that stipulate someone under 35, one which asked for "preferably a married man with children".
It's difficult to see how Italy can make real progress with these outdated attitudes.

What a small world this is, my great friend in Italy also works at the American University of Rome, he was a great help to us as translator and advisor when we bought our place in Lazio. He is on a sabatical at the moment and I know he travels to London on occasion, wouldn't it be incredible if it were the same guy.
Do please PM me if you can remember his name, I would not wish to discuss a friend in the open as it were. :smile:

[quote=Sally Donaldson;85721]Interesting question. Is there then no age discrimination act in Italy as is the UK???[/quote]
no there is no age discrimination act here,age is only the tip of the iceberg of the many forms of employment discrimination here -sex,racial,religous,regional,political,and almost anything else you can think of is regularly practised.

Ironic really, as in political terms I'd class this society as a gerontocracy. Plus the current generation of pensioners are often doing quite well, but I'm not sure how the current workers will be paid for when it comes to their turn to retire.

I was looking at updating my CV the other day. My Italian version is reasonably up-to-date, but I thought I needed an English language version for some potential employers. The first thing I did was delete my age and 'status' details, plus take out the quite redundant 'Curriculum' at the top: what else is it for goodness sake!

:no:

Hi Laughing Boy,

I am also trying to find work and am in the same position as you, in that I am willing to try almost anything just to get a foot into the workplace...at the ripe old age of 39 I seem to be past it according to a lot of jobs I have seen advertised. Its seems like after 35 in Italy if you don't have a job you?ve had it!. Wasn't there a sci-fi programme or film years ago ...I think it was called logans run where we old yins got exterminated?? .....OOps!
To me this is just another example of countries using EU law to suit themselves......you cannot discriminate like this in the UK.!

Anyway I hope everyone has had a nice Easter!:yes:

Auds:masked:

I just read in a Spanish newspaper (QUE, today's) that the EU unemployment rate for those between 55 and 64 years of age is 69.3

Perhaps you could try mimicking an eastern european accent and get a job with a local builder. I can only imagine this is so popular as they're probably paid a fraction of what a local would want and may be under the radar as far is the authorities are concerned. Hmmm..... that sounds familar to somewhere else.

hi guys
thanks for all your help and thoughts on this.it seems us old uns (thought 48 was the new 21) are doomed,even if we are qualified and carry with us a ton of all the correct paperwork but i`m not giving up yet.i have tried teaching english but alas i don`t know the ins and outs of english grammar and usualy it`s young students who want to learn and they would need to know. (until recently,i thought an indirect object pronoun was something that lived in the ground and ate grass). i`v been to see a commercialista about starting my own business here, as i did in the u.k. but the costs are high even if you don`t make a penny.
i have thought of something though,english versions of some italian websites often make me laugh.maybe i could charge for putting them right? i saw one thermal baths in tuscany saying that the pool was" watched by people experienced in salvage operations".or i could creativly write adverts for italian companies e.g. wanted, young (max age 21) blue eyed blond with big knockers,must be able to wear uniform (maid),type, swim, fly (unaided),of a FRIENDLY disposition with 10 years welding experience.
i`v just realised thats me,i`m off for a fitting:laughs:

Does this apply to all over Italy? - I would think there were more jobs in the North than in the South. I know in Southern Italy unemployment amongst Italians is very high. My friend lives with her husband in Sardinia and he has been unemployed for years - she says there is just no work at all. She is a hairdresser so manages to get some work working for his mother.

I would like to think that I could get part time jobs if we decided to relocate to Italy in a few years - we have an apartment in Tuscany - although I'm probably wrong. One factor that may not go in my favour is I have fair hair and blue eyes and could probably pass as German and I have always got the impression that Italians in the North and South don't like the Germans. I hope that doesn't sound racist or anything but it is just something I noticed. I have some lovely German friends who are coming with us to our flat in July - I wonder how they will be received. In the South near Salerno people were openly hostile towards me until then discovered I wasn't German, but Irish/English and then they became friendly! This is one of the reasons why I love the UK we are so welcoming to other nationalities. Anyway what do others think?

[quote=headyheady;86121]Does this apply to all over Italy? - I would think there were more jobs in the North than in the South. I know in Southern Italy unemployment amongst Italians is very high. My friend lives with her husband in Sardinia and he has been unemployed for years - she says there is just no work at all. She is a hairdresser so manages to get some work working for his mother.

I would like to think that I could get part time jobs if we decided to relocate to Italy in a few years - we have an apartment in Tuscany - although I'm probably wrong. One factor that may not go in my favour is I have fair hair and blue eyes and could probably pass as German and I have always got the impression that Italians in the North and South don't like the Germans. I hope that doesn't sound racist or anything but it is just something I noticed. I have some lovely German friends who are coming with us to our flat in July - I wonder how they will be received. In the South near Salerno people were openly hostile towards me until then discovered I wasn't German, but Irish/English and then they became friendly! This is one of the reasons why I love the UK we are so welcoming to other nationalities. Anyway what do others think?[/quote]
yes,there's plenty of work in the north.i spent over twenty years in Milano,had a good career,got chosen on merit thru headhunters etc no particular pregiudice around.Other big northern cities it's similar.A lot of age discrimination these days however.the further south the more difficult it becomes,above all in the fact that,especially in rural areas one can expect little graduate level employment.There again there wouldn't be much on offer in central wales or northern scotland if it came to it.As far as Germans are concerned i've never encountered particular dislike for Germans.There is an enormous Italian population in Germany,Germany is still Italy's first trading partner and it's reciprocal too.German tourism to Italy is also very important and is far bigger than British tourism to Italy.