Work matters

Carry on working!

From autumn 2011, if you want to carry on in a job you like after pension age, it will be your choice. And now it’s illegal for employers to discriminate on grounds of age too. Is it all good news for older workers?

The UK’s default retirement age (DRA) will be scrapped from October and employers won’t be able to enforce retirement when employees reach 65. It makes sense that if you’re good at your job, you should be able to carry on as long as you want. It makes economic sense too: as we’re living longer, we’ll have to work longer to pay our way.

The scrapping of the DRA comes hot on the heels of the long-overdue Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, which make it unlawful to discriminate against workers, employees, job seekers and trainees because of their age. Companies can no longer advertise for ‘young go-getters’ or ‘mature’ staff. Now everyone is considered on their merits, regardless of age.

In fact these days many companies recognise that older can be wiser and with age comes experience. Particularly in retail, customers often prefer dealing with an experienced member of staff rather than a callow youth!

With the number of UK workers over 50 set to rise to 27 million by 2030, it’s hardly surprising that many companies already see genuine advantages in opening their doors to older staff. The supermarket chain Asda finds that having older staff has a positive impact on the quality of its customer service.

Everyone will benefit

“Everybody stands to win from scrapping forced retirement’, says Michelle Mitchell, AGE UK Charity Director. “People over 65 will have full employment rights for the first time. The economy will benefit from older workers’ valuable skills and experience and their increased buying power, while public finances will receive a boost from more people paying taxes for longer.”

Employers will save around £45 million in the first year according to government research, mainly because of fewer employment-tribunal cases and lower administrative costs associated with the current ‘Right to Request’ procedure – where workers approaching retirement age formally ask to work for longer.

For employees, retiring later is likely to mean more workers qualify for their full pension entitlement, both in private and state pension schemes. This can mean a bigger pension when you do retire, which gives you more chance of having a retirement you’ll really enjoy.

The scrapping of the DRA has many supporters. Most agree that working later is an acceptable trade-off for a longer and more prosperous life. And it’s hoped that it will build more respectful and tolerant workplaces for workers of all ages. It should, with any luck, force recruiters to think more carefully about the vital importance of skills and experience and less about he age of job applicants. And that’s good news for all of us.

This feature was written by DialExpotel for Expotel, the UK’s leading hotel, travel and venue booking agency. To find out more about Expotel, call 0844 793 7300.

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