EMPLOYERS in Swindon are being warned to be on the lookout for bogus job applicants trying to cash in on the Age Discrimination Act when it comes into force in October.

The introduction of the legislation has been heralded as the biggest development in UK employment law in a generation.

It will affect all aspects of employment from recruitment, promotion and training to redundancy, dismissal and retirement.

The job application sting has already been carried out using sex and race discrimination laws and involves a person making a genuine application for a job and submitting similar applications for the same vacancy using a different name, gender or ethnic background.

The fraudster then sees if any of the false applications receive more favourable treatment than the genuine one and if they do, discrimination claims are laid against the employer in respect of sex or race.

Employment experts at Withy King Solicitors are alerting companies to the problem and the implications of age discrimination on the eve of Age Positive Week, this week, which is aimed at raising awareness of ageism in the workplace and promoting age diversity in employment.

Tony Brown, employment dispute specialist and partner at Withy King, said that employers are often not prepared to admit they have been a victim of the hoax and settle before a tribunal takes place.

He said: "Faced with accusations of discriminatory treatment of job applicants, without genuine evidence to support reasons for selection and rejection, most organisations would feel uncomfortable at the prospect of a tribunal claim, particularly with the burden of proof placed at the employer's door.

"People conducting these scams take advantage of the fact that some employers do not keep records of failed job applications, for example, because of fear of breaching the Data Protection Act, and will often be prepared to make nuisance payments to settle complaints of discrimination.

"But, while anecdotal evidence of the problem is common with race and sex discrimination, employers seem not to be willing to admit they have been stung and this only encourages fraudsters as they are never brought to book.

"With the new age discrimination laws coming into force, the same could easily happen, but this is also a chance for employers to come out into the open, put the correct processes in place and stop making it so easy for the cheats to play them in this way."

A recent poll of 100 major UK employers, by the Employers Forum on Age, revealed that 40 per cent believe the majority of tribunal cases will contain some element of age discrimination after October 1.

The experience of other countries substantiates this fear. For example, the introduction of the legislation in the US resulted in a 40 per cent increase in tribunal claims. In Ireland, age is now the basis of 19 per cent of tribunals.