A quarter of employers are wary of hiring new staff since anti-ageism regulations came into effect on 1 October, according to Continental Research’s Business Omnibus Survey.

Anna Westgren, research executive at Continental Research, says: “Not surprisingly with all the media interest, the majority of employers (92%) are aware of the new anti-ageism regulations.

“A third of UK employers think that it will have a positive impact on their business; one in 10 employers say it will have a negative impact on their company and most (57%) are clearly not expecting the legislation to make much of a difference to them.”

The survey found that eight out of 10 employers aged over 55 criticised younger employees by saying that they are harder to manage and two thirds said that younger employees are more easily distracted from their work, attitudes that the younger employers are less likely to hold. These younger employers, while more supportive of their older colleagues, are also more likely to praise younger employees by saying that they are more ambitious.