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Why do some outsourcers want to know my age?
Thread poster: Tom in London
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:02
Member (2008)
Italian to English
Mar 10, 2017

In Italy, everyone's tax code contains information that includes their year of birth.

Italian agencies occasionally ask me to tell them my age.

Surely there are very few reasons why an outsourcer would need to ask for anyone's age?

Needless to say, I am over 18. At least here in the UK, no employer should ask for any more specific details.

Asking questions about a person's age might be classed as discrimination, which is illegal here.
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In Italy, everyone's tax code contains information that includes their year of birth.

Italian agencies occasionally ask me to tell them my age.

Surely there are very few reasons why an outsourcer would need to ask for anyone's age?

Needless to say, I am over 18. At least here in the UK, no employer should ask for any more specific details.

Asking questions about a person's age might be classed as discrimination, which is illegal here.

Sometimes agencies ask for my date of birth "for their records", but that is surely no less controversial.

I have no particular problem about my age, but it irks me when people ask me to give them information about myself to which they are not entitled.

Is there any specific legal reason why an Italian translation agency would be required to ask for a translator's age?
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Sheila Wilson
Sheila Wilson  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 14:02
Member (2007)
English
+ ...
I find it unnecessary too Mar 10, 2017

Tom in London wrote:
In Italy, everyone's tax code contains information that includes their year of birth.

In France too. That's probably just to narrow the field a bit. It won't necessarily make you "the one and only Tom in London born on dd/mm/yy" but it will go some way to narrowing the field and identifying which Tom in London is being taxed.

I have no particular problem about my age, but it irks me when people ask me to give them information about myself to which they are not entitled.

I can't believe they actually WANT or NEED the information, or are even remotely interested. It's just a random data item that finds its way into forms. I don't care for it either. I would refuse to give my age or my marital status on an agency "recruitment" form. Normally there comes a point early on in that process where I hit the "X" button.


 
Helena Chavarria
Helena Chavarria  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 15:02
Member (2011)
Spanish to English
+ ...
No one has ever asked my age Mar 10, 2017

Though on occasions I might tell someone, so they know I've been around quite a long time and there's no point in trying to mess me about

 
Sanghyo Lee
Sanghyo Lee  Identity Verified
South Korea
Local time: 23:02
English to Korean
+ ...
Sadly it happens in South Korea, too. Mar 10, 2017

I don't think there is any specific legal reason. It's just a bad old custom.

 
Thomas T. Frost
Thomas T. Frost  Identity Verified
Portugal
Local time: 14:02
Danish to English
+ ...
Cultural habits Mar 10, 2017

My experience from 15 years in France is that it is an extremely bureaucratic, rigid, top-down culture where more paperwork and more information are always better, even if only half is required by law. Demanding too much paperwork and information – and insisting on silly formalities devoid of legal significance – is also a way for certain people to demonstrate their hierarchical status and dominance.

Italy is not less bureaucratic than France, according to what I have heard.
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My experience from 15 years in France is that it is an extremely bureaucratic, rigid, top-down culture where more paperwork and more information are always better, even if only half is required by law. Demanding too much paperwork and information – and insisting on silly formalities devoid of legal significance – is also a way for certain people to demonstrate their hierarchical status and dominance.

Italy is not less bureaucratic than France, according to what I have heard.

My age can be approximately calculated based on my CV anyway, but if an outsourcer should insist on such personal information, it would tell me something about their attitude.
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Jan Truper
Jan Truper  Identity Verified
Germany
Local time: 15:02
Member (2016)
English to German
Age can be a factor in language Mar 10, 2017

Tom in London wrote:

Surely there are very few reasons why an outsourcer would need to ask for anyone's age?



I can think of a few reasons why age might be of interest in regards to translation.
For example, as an outsourcer, I don't think I'd want anybody under 25 translating sophisticated texts about art or philosophy, or anybody over 75 translating "Grand Theft Auto".

Other than that, when I get asked my age in non-official contexts (in kafkaesque internet forms, for example), I often give a fake date -- it's none of their beeswax.

[Edited at 2017-03-10 18:14 GMT]


 
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 15:02
Member (2015)
English to Spanish
You could die in the middle of a project Mar 11, 2017

They have to protect themselves.

 
Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:02
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Nope Mar 11, 2017

Álvaro Espantaleón wrote:

They have to protect themselves.


That doesn't depend on age. Anyone may die at any time.


 
Tony Keily
Tony Keily
Local time: 15:02
Italian to English
+ ...
Sudden death Mar 11, 2017

I almost died watching the Barça-PSG match the other night!

 
Nikki Scott-Despaigne
Nikki Scott-Despaigne  Identity Verified
Local time: 15:02
French to English
Legal issues Mar 11, 2017

Legal issues are raised in many jurisdictions with this type of information. In France, discrimination legislation covers gender, age, race, physical appearance, disability, etc., as do many countries. However, the fact remains that almost every single form you fill in, particularly online, has an * alongside all sorts of details which are precisely gender, age, etc.

One big difference you find between France and the UK for example, is that in the UK, race is commonly asked for. Th
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Legal issues are raised in many jurisdictions with this type of information. In France, discrimination legislation covers gender, age, race, physical appearance, disability, etc., as do many countries. However, the fact remains that almost every single form you fill in, particularly online, has an * alongside all sorts of details which are precisely gender, age, etc.

One big difference you find between France and the UK for example, is that in the UK, race is commonly asked for. There is usually an opt-out option however. In France, it is one item you never find mentionned. Another big difference is that in France, it is very common to find profession as a required field, even "father's profession". A throw-back to the patricarchal nature of French society. INSEE, France's national statistics institute collects data of this sort, as a rule to keep an eye on egality of access (education, for example). As with the UK's "race", France's "profession" are argued as being required in order to ensure that discrimination is avoided. The opposite point of view can be argued.

We're not through with this yet.
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Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno
Álvaro Espantaleón Moreno  Identity Verified
Spain
Local time: 15:02
Member (2015)
English to Spanish
That game was fixed! Mar 11, 2017

Tony Keily wrote:

I almost died watching the Barça-PSG match the other night!


Poor PSG


 
Ali Bayraktar
Ali Bayraktar  Identity Verified
Türkiye
Member (2007)
English to Turkish
+ ...
Honestly speaking Mar 11, 2017

I am one of those whose sees a direct relation between perfectness and the age.
To my opinion, in art, the more the age, the more the artwork (here it is called translation) has perfection.

If they ask age related question for this purpose, I can understand this and see it as a normal request.

Discrimination is everywhere,
If to think widely, the terms "high quality" and "low quality" are also a kind of discrimination.
But we make such discrimination a
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I am one of those whose sees a direct relation between perfectness and the age.
To my opinion, in art, the more the age, the more the artwork (here it is called translation) has perfection.

If they ask age related question for this purpose, I can understand this and see it as a normal request.

Discrimination is everywhere,
If to think widely, the terms "high quality" and "low quality" are also a kind of discrimination.
But we make such discrimination and don't let the concept "low quality" to survive, right?

If they ask your age in that concept, I understand and support this.

Regards,

M. Ali
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Tina Vonhof (X)
Tina Vonhof (X)
Canada
Local time: 08:02
Dutch to English
+ ...
Thank you! Mar 11, 2017

Ali Bayraktar wrote:

I am one of those whose sees a direct relation between perfectness and the age.
To my opinion, in art, the more the age, the more the artwork (here it is called translation) has perfection...



Thank you Ali, I'll take that as a wonderful compliment - it makes my day.

A wonderful day to you too,

Tina


 
LEXpert
LEXpert  Identity Verified
United States
Local time: 09:02
Member (2008)
Croatian to English
+ ...
To know how much of a pushover you are Mar 11, 2017

It's a proxy for how easy it will be take advantage of you.
Older translators will probably be more experienced and demand consequently higher rates, have a better understanding of the relevant markets, and also have a more extensive client base, allowing them to reject or push back against disadvantageous offers.

Younger translators are more likely to be more naive beginners with lower costs of living and less of an understanding of the market, and might thus more readily agr
... See more
It's a proxy for how easy it will be take advantage of you.
Older translators will probably be more experienced and demand consequently higher rates, have a better understanding of the relevant markets, and also have a more extensive client base, allowing them to reject or push back against disadvantageous offers.

Younger translators are more likely to be more naive beginners with lower costs of living and less of an understanding of the market, and might thus more readily agree to lower rates.

Of course, i'm not saying that these generalities are universally applicable, just how the customer might look at it.
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Tom in London
Tom in London
United Kingdom
Local time: 14:02
Member (2008)
Italian to English
TOPIC STARTER
Thank you Mar 11, 2017

Thank you LEXpert - interesting thoughts indeed.

 
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