Age at Work Presentation to Work The national workshop on age and employment Rachel Krys Director - EFA

The EFA  Independent not for profit employer-led forum in UK  200+ members from all sectors – many UK FTSE 100  Existing members include major companies, Govt. Departments and Local Authorities.  Recognised as the leading authority on age and employment issues in the UK – agenda setting  Represents employers’ views to Government and others e.g. age laws  Supplies members with quality advice, practical products & access to age best practice

Age: Some facts  Fewer younger workers – from 2010 the number of younger people reaching working age will fall by 60,000 every year (City & Guilds 2006)  41% of the UK population will be over 50 in 2031  In 2006 for the first time there were more year old than years olds (ONS 2005)  The UK’s average retirement age is 63.8 years (DWP 2006)  The number of people over 65 and still economically active will increase by 33% between 2005 and 2020 (to 775,000)

Snapshot… October 2007 (1)  High levels of awareness: 86% of Brits know it’s illegal to discriminate on age at work  Discrimination still happening: 16 million workers* have witnessed ageist practices at work in the last year alone >A third are aware of an older person getting paid more than a younger person for doing the same job >One in three see people being managed differently depending on their age – an increase from 23% last year >One in eight have seen a younger person overlooked for promotion in favour of an older person, irrespective of experience – this is down from last year which was 23% >More than a quarter said people of a similar age to the rest of the team are recruited to ensure a good ‘fit’. No change since laws came into force * 59% of workers surveyed

Snapshot… October 2007 (2)  Little understanding of ageism: Less than half (45%) of those surveyed correctly identified that ageism can affect anyone of any age; a third (33%) believe that it only affects older people.  Mismatch over retirement expectations: 92% of people surveyed think they should have the right to work for as long as they like if they are able to do the job, regardless of their age. Yet one in five (21%) said that their employer would not give them this right, and instead would use the default retirement age of 65.  Claims rising: 200 age discrimination claims are lodged every month

Discrimination law in the UK  6 ‘protected grounds’ under UK law: race, gender, disability, sexual orientation, religion and belief, age  Age Regulations 2006 implement EC 2000/78 in relation to employment (but not goods and services)  Unlawful acts: >Direct discrimination >Indirect discrimination >Harassment >Victimisation

Age discrimination  Discrimination unlawful unless >Exempted in the Regulations (eg National Minimum Wage, retirement, redundancy payments) >Objectively justified: >Legitimate aim >Proportionate means

Remedies for discrimination  Complaint to an Employment Tribunal (ET)  Employee must establish facts from which ET could infer discrimination  Burden of proof then rests with employer  Unlimited compensation  Increasing volume of ET claims

UK working age population 2006 / 2030

Age discrimination can be difficult to spot  In recruitment >For this post I’m looking for commitment and reliability, not someone who is going to move on after a year or so. I reckon I need someone older.  In promotion >Internal candidates are not really considered. We find that external recruits bring vitality, fresh ideas and are keen to more the business forward. I can’t see any of our middle managers having the energy  In retirement >Everyone knows he’s past it. I keep dropping subtle hints about golf lessons and spending time with the grandchildren but he just ignores them. The problem is we’ll lose his excellent deputy if he doesn’t retire.

What employers are asking us: recruitment  Junior, senior, length of experience – what is lawful?  How do you avoid discrimination when you use CVs?  Why do we need to know date of birth?  Can we still operate a graduate scheme?  EFA solution – bias free application form

What employers are asking us: retirement  Can no fixed retirement age work?  Should we give reasons for saying ‘yes’ or ‘no’?  What criteria should we set for saying no?  Should we put a time limit on work after 65?  Do we have to give someone access to the pension scheme?  Can we stop insured benefits at the default age?

What have employers done…  The Co-operative Group: service related benefits removed; new graduate recruitment programme, no retirement age  Sainsbury’s: apprenticeship scheme, open to all ages  B&Q: demonstrate benefits to all ages e.g. grandparents/ term time leave  BT: removing retirement age (journey… before 2006 managers had to make a business case for saying ‘no’)  Qinetiq: new redundancy arrangements  Orange: recruitment language checklist

What employers are struggling with…  Redundancy v Retirement  Insurance post 65 and insured benefits generally  Retirement – particularly with “Heyday” challenge And to a lesser extent…  Resistance to use of application forms  Employee apathy  Confusion over what can be asked for (language/years of experience)

Key campaigns: work to be done  Ending retirement age  Challenging minimum wage differentials  Securing insurance exemptions  Changing redundancy provisions  Removing age bars in resourcing training  Challenging an extension into goods & services  Extending public sector duties  Revising equal pay legislation

Where next for age?  2011? The future of mandatory/default retirement ages  Younger workers… skills, ethics, motivation and management challenges  Health, well-being & extending working life  Re-defining working lives and career paths (flexible working)  Performance Management  Tackling ageist culture

Try to follow simple rules  Remember age is a poor determinant of ability – focus on skills not age  Ensure the concept of fairness and equal treatment guides all behaviour  If you think age is important try substituting ‘black’ or ‘woman’ and if that feels wrong, it’s probably wrong to use age  Don’t be soft if people aren’t performing irrespective of age – deal with it.