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10 August 2006 - New research encourages employers to tackle age discrimination practices and recognise the benefits of older workers

Employers can benefit from older workers and should do more to tackle age discrimination, according to new research published by the Department for Work and Pensions today.

The Age Partnership Group (APG) sector specific research reports look at the challenges faced by nine sectors of the economy relating to the recruitment, training and retention of older workers and will be used for the Age Positive campaign ahead of the introduction of the Age Discrimination Legislation on 1 October this year.

James Purnell, Minister for Pension Reform, said:

“As announced in the Pensions White Paper, we are working with employers to remove compulsory retirement ages and adopt flexible approaches. We recognise that we have an ageing population, with many older people who want the choice to continue working rather than retire.

“We know that older workers have a lower rate of absenteeism and are better motivated. And we believe that this has a positive impact for businesses who can benefit from a more flexible workforce with a wider range of skills and abilities.

“The reports also give employers good advice on how to comply with the Age Regulations. We are working closely across the sectors to ensure that businesses have all the information they need to make the necessary adjustments.”

The nine APG sector specific research reports include:

The research found that eight sectors use length of experience to fix starting salaries or as a criterion in selection for recruitment and retention; seven sectors use age or length of service as the basis for redundancy decisions; five sectors provide age information on candidates to short-listing and interviewing staff; four sectors set maximum or contractual retirement ages and for two of these sectors the contractual retirement age is often below 65.

The reports also examine what employers are doing to remove compulsory retirement ages and adopt flexible approaches, as set out in the Pensions White Paper, as well as looking at how the age legislation affects young people in the workforce.

Employers wishing to find out more about Age Positive, the legislation and the business benefits of age diversity can visit www.agepositive.gov.uk

Notes to Editors

  1. A number of case studies highlighting the positive steps that have already been taken by businesses to tackle age discrimination are available on request. This includes :
    • Mears Construction
    • WH Kirkwood
    • St Helens Primary Care Trust
    • FirstGroup Plc
    • South Wales Forgemasters
  2. Age Positive is a Department for Work and Pensions campaign, which runs throughout England, Scotland and Wales.
  3. The Age Positive campaign promotes the benefits of employing a mixed-age workforce that includes older and younger people.
  4. More than 150 ‘Employer Champions’ including Asda, Borders, Coca Cola, Royal Bank of Scotland already support the campaign. These are organisations that are able to demonstrate exemplary age diversity practices.
  5. More information on Age Positive and a full list of Employer Champions is available from www.agepositive.gov.uk.
  6. The Government will introduce age discrimination legislation on 1 October 2006. The new age legislation will outlaw discrimination on the grounds of age in areas such as recruitment, training, promotion and retirement. It will cover all employers, large and small, in both private and public sectors.
  7. The nine sector specific reports were written by Professor Stephen McNair and Dr Matt Flynn of the Centre for Research into the Older Workforce and are available via the Age Positive website at www.agepositive.gov.uk
  8. The nine reports were based on secondary analysis of data from the joint DWP and DTI ‘Survey of employers’ policies, practices and preferences relating to age’ that was published on 9 March 2006. This report was written by Hilary Metcalf with Pam Meadows and is available at www.dwp.gov.uk/asd/asd5/rports2005-2006/rrep325.pdf

Press Office Helena Markovic: 020 7238 0645
Out of Hours: 07659 108883
Textphone: 020 7238 0788
Public Enquiries: 020 7712 2171
Website: www.dwp.gov.uk

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