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Ageism is the most common form of unfair discrimination at work, a union leader has claimed.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber made the claim during a speech in London today, pointing to statistics which suggest a quarter of workplace managers have admitted to discriminating on the basis of age.

Giving the Life Academy annual lecture, Mr Barber said the treatment of former Liberal Democrat leader Sir Menzies Campbell – ridiculed by satirists because of his age – was "sadly symptomatic of the ageism that is deeply engrained within the fabric of our society".

Claiming Britain's older generation had come to feel marginalised, the union chief said the use of offensive terms such as 'coffin dodgers' also reflected the country's negative attitude towards its older citizens.

Calling for an end to ageism, Mr Barber called on employers to make full use of older workers and said the government should give staff more choice about how and when they retire.

He said two in five retired men and one in five retired women were currently leaving work earlier than expected – describing the trend as a "terrible waste of experience and talent".

Mr Barber said retirement should be "less of a cliff-edge", calling for a flexible approach to give people the option of working beyond the current state retirement age by undertaking part-time work while drawing pension benefits.

The TUC leader also called for more investment in training for older workers and a right for everyone to request flexible working – something he said would be useful to grandparents charged with caring for their grandchildren.

Finally, Mr Barber said employers should make "reasonable adjustments" to the jobs of their older workers as necessary, in order to safeguard their health and well-being.

Putting forward the business case for eliminating ageism in the workplace, he stressed: "No organisation will succeed over the longer term unless it nurtures the talents, knowledge and potential of all its workforce.

"That's why all employers - whether large or small, public or private, manufacturing or services - need to start getting their head round the idea of proactive age management."