Breaking the 35-year-old workplace threshold to ensure employment equality


The government work report proposes to resolutely prevent and correct employment discrimination

□ Our reporter Pu Xiaolei

　　Two weeks ago, the human resources manager of an Internet company asked Liu Wei if he was willing to change jobs, and his salary could be doubled or tripled.

After thinking twice, Liu Wei, who works in a public institution in Beijing, decided to give up this opportunity.

　　"I am 34 years old this year. Even though my annual salary can be tripled after changing jobs, I still feel uneasy. In recent years, many companies have laid off a lot of staff. If I am laid off and then look for a job, I will even get a job at the age of 35. The threshold can't be crossed." Liu Wei said.

　　The 35-year-old employment threshold that Liu Wei is worried about is also a concern of many deputies during the National People's Congress this year.

　　Jiang Shengnan, a representative of the National People's Congress and a researcher at Wenzhou University who has put forward relevant suggestions for two consecutive years, bluntly stated that the invisible age discrimination of 35 years old has always existed in the workplace, "This restriction is not only aimed at the workplace, but also affects the marriage rate, fertility rate, workplace engagement, Career planning and other aspects are actually a big social issue.”

Hong Mingji, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and executive director and chief executive of Hexing Group Holdings Co., Ltd., called on relevant departments to punish "35-year-old employment discrimination" through legislation.

　　Regarding the phenomenon of age employment discrimination, many representatives, committee members and experts pointed out that the "35-year-old restriction" should be lifted through legislation to further ensure employment equality in the system.

At the same time, government agencies and state-owned enterprises and institutions should take the lead in making changes, and adopt guiding policies and measures for private enterprises, so as to gradually change the concept of the whole society.

　　Age thresholds for recruitment are common

　　March and April after the Spring Festival are often the peak recruitment season.

However, for many job seekers over the age of 35, the feeling of this peak season is not obvious.

　　According to the "2022 Spring Recruitment Market Weekly Report (2nd Issue)" recently released by Zhaopin Recruitment, the proportion of the number of people who regard "age reasons" as the reason for their difficulty in finding a job shows an accelerated upward trend with the increase of work experience.

Among job seekers who have worked for more than 10 years, 56.9% believe that "age reasons" make it difficult to find a job.

　　"Generally speaking, unless you have significant advantages such as rich experience, rich resources, and fruitful results, it will be particularly difficult to apply for a job after the age of 35. Take colleges and universities as an example, if you want to teach in colleges and universities after the age of 35, unless you are Talents who have been transferred from other units and have achieved fruitful results will be difficult to come in. This phenomenon exists in almost all walks of life.” said Sun Yuhua, an associate researcher at the China Legal Strategy Research Center of East China University of Political Science and Law.

　　As Sun Yuhua said, the phenomenon of "35-year-old restriction" exists in many industries.

Not only are the civil servants required to be "18 to 35 years old", but the recruitment announcements of many colleges and institutions are also marked with "no more than 35 years old".

When recruiting, most companies either explicitly stipulate a 35-year-old age limit or covertly abide by this rule.

　　Hong Mingji recalled that when he returned to China to start a business 30 years ago, the age dividing line for young cadres at the grassroots level was under 35. However, after more than 30 years, the economic level has changed with each passing day, but the standard for measuring the age of talents has remained stagnant.

　　Multiple reasons lead to "35-year-old restriction"

　　In recent years, the concept of "human resources before the age of 35, and labor costs after the age of 35" has become very popular.

　　Sun Yuhua analyzed that with the rapid economic and social development, the speed of knowledge update is also accelerating, and many people are eliminated by this fast pace.

Relatively speaking, young people are more malleable, have longer service cycles, and are more dominant in knowledge update and reserve.

As a result, employers prefer to choose younger job seekers.

　　"Young people are motivated at work, have less entanglements in life, are more innovative, adaptable, and malleable, and do not have high requirements for remuneration, which are more favored by companies. Especially in competition In the fierce Internet industry, this situation is even more obvious, and job seekers under the age of 35 will have more advantages and popularity." A human resources manager of a large Internet company told reporters.

　　Some representatives, committee members and experts believe that another important reason for the phenomenon of "35-year-old limit" is the influence of the system.

　　The "Interim Regulations on the Recruitment of National Civil Servants" implemented in 1994 clarified that applicants for national civil servants must meet the conditions of "under the age of 35".

The "Regulations on the Recruitment of Civil Servants (Trial)" implemented in 2007 followed this rule.

The "Regulations on the Recruitment of Civil Servants" revised in 2019 clarified that applicants for civil servants should have the qualifications of "age over 18 years old and under 35 years old".

　　"In the past 20 years, this standard has not only become a condition for civil servants to apply for the examination, but also gradually adopted by some institutions and enterprises when recruiting. Over time, the current phenomenon of '35-year-old employment restriction' has formed." Sun Yuhua said.

　　In Jiang Shengnan's view, the "one-size-fits-all" definition of the 35-year-old job-hunting threshold is a bit too simplistic and rude.

In recent years, some companies have been affected by the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and their operating conditions are not good, and some employees need to be re-employed. "These people did not lose their jobs because their knowledge level could not keep up. Many people have good experience and skills, but they are looking for jobs. Still stumped by the hurdle of being 35 years old."

　　Jiang Shengnan believes that if this group of people is excluded from the workplace because of age restrictions, it will not only be a huge waste of talents, but will also make many people worry that they will be eliminated at a certain age, which will affect the marriage rate, fertility rate, and workplace investment. degree, career planning, etc., this will become a big social problem.

　　Lv Guoquan, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference and director of the General Office of the All-China Federation of Trade Unions, believes that this age limit has considerable limitations, and it is neither in line with the rights and interests of employees, nor in line with the current general trend of expanding employment and implementing more active employment policies in my country, let alone. In line with the current policy requirements for improving the development and utilization of human resources, "there should indeed be a policy implementation at this stage to adjust the age limit for employment."

　　Improve social security and reemployment training systems

　　This year's government work report proposes to resolutely prevent and correct gender, age, education and other employment discrimination, and vigorously create a fair employment environment.

　　Many representatives, committee members and experts believe that to solve the problem of "35-year-old employment restrictions", we need to start from various aspects such as legislative amendments, social security, and skills training.

　　Lin Yong, deputy to the National People's Congress and professor of South China Normal University, believes that government agencies should play a leading and exemplary role in exploring the loosening of the "35-year-old limit" for civil service examinations. Under the age of 35", the conditions for applying for the examination were revised to "Age over the age of 18".

　　Hu Wei, member of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, counselor of the Shanghai Municipal Government, and executive deputy director of the Shanghai Zhonghua Vocational Education Association, suggested in the proposal that relevant labor laws and regulations should be revised to require that employers should not use age as a red line for recruitment, promotion or dismissal, and in various enterprises. Guaranteed a certain proportion of people aged 40 and above.

In addition, public welfare post placement can be expanded, and consideration should be given to clarifying the proportion of people aged 40 and above in public welfare post placement, and some jobs that require higher social experience are only open to people aged 40 and above.

　　In addition to saying no to the "35-year-old employment restriction" at the institutional level, it is also necessary to improve the corresponding social security system and re-employment training system to give job seekers a buffer time and learning opportunities.

　　Yang Zhigang, deputy to the National People's Congress and employee of Dongfeng Group Shenlong Automobile Co., Ltd., believes that the emergence of the "35-year-old limit" phenomenon means that job seekers are still lacking in their own abilities, and there is still room for growth and improvement.

It is suggested that older job seekers, especially ordinary workers, should strengthen vocational skills learning and training, so that they can have "one skill" or become a "top player" in the industry, so that their careers can be smoother.

　　"At present, the most important thing at the moment is to try to overcome the impact of the new crown pneumonia epidemic, and to further improve the corresponding social security system, so that job seekers over 35 years old can have a 'safety net' and a 'buffer zone', Let them have time and opportunities to update their knowledge. For example, policies can be introduced to encourage them to participate in open universities and skill-based training institutions to help them acquire newer, more, and more refined knowledge and skills, and further expand the depth and breadth of employment ." Sun Yuhua said.