Application forms shouldn't include age etc. It has to go on the ethnicity form which is required to be separated before the interview panel see's it. But has you said, it is really easy to work out anyway because of school dates etc. There have been dismissal cases that have gone against the AD law but can't recall seeing anything around recruitment. I'm sure it happens but, as I said, its hard to prove as you can only request feedback for yourself and you don't know what the other candidates were like. My mrs has applied for a few jobs where it had a application deadline but when she's rung up they've given the job to someone else despite the deadline not being for another week. That one really bugs me, clearly there is no "fairness" applied to the recruitment process.
All I have on my CV is my name and contact information and IT working history, I don't even have any of the jobs I worked prior to IT. Yeah they can't ask and rightly so as it has **** all to do with the job, but if the place you will be working or the team you will work on are all 20 somethings it will go against you at the interview if you are 40-50 years old. A lot of ads make a point of stating that they are looking for a young person without actually saying it. Like "Want someone to work as part of a young vibrant team of" and stuff like that.
Thanks all for your well wishes, kind words & encouragement. My CV is now updated, and I've applied for one job already. If this one materialises, it'll save me me at LEAST an hour a day traveling, as it's only a mile or so down the road from where I live. And it's slightly more money. Fingers crossed.
And the lad is a scientist, I guess Uni can't teach common sense or instill logical thought processes
There're still several RHC that seem to have not heard about my leg, may have to do a thread to let ppl know