One year on and still not enough action taken to stamp out age discrimination in the workplace

October 2007

Employers will miss out on talent if they continue to wait for the European Court of Justice (ECJ) to abolish mandatory retirement age, according to the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

Dianah Worman, CIPD Diversity Adviser says: "The Government fought shy of taking the opportunity to abolish default retirement when the age regulations first came into force. But some employers including some Government departments have already rejected it in recognition of the talent older workers can bring to the workforce. Now is the time for other businesses to follow suit.

"Our research finds older workers generally perform better, are more loyal and reliable, and they have lower sickness absence rates than other jobless groups. At a time when organisations continue to face recruitment and retention difficulties older workers are not a group that employers can afford to ignore."

An online poll of 255 employers carried out by the CIPD has found that the default retirement age has caused employers to miss out on talent. The poll found that the default retirement age has prevented around one in five employers from offering jobs to those aged 65 or older.

Worman adds: "Abolishing mandatory retirement would give older workers more choice and flexibility in deciding how and when they stop working, but would also benefit business and the wider economy by encouraging better management of older workers, and extending access to a wider pool of skilled and experienced labour."

Minimum wage - is it right to pay younger workers less?

Charles Cotton, CIPD Reward Adviser says: "It is unfair that two individuals doing the same job and performing at the same level should be paid differently just because of their age, and such inconsistencies need to be addressed if we are to stamp out ageism in the workplace. While we urge the Government to phase out age-related rates of pay, we recognise that these changes will need to be made over time in order to avoid businesses going under due to cost related problems.

"Varied minimum wage rates should be based on individuals' readiness to add value rather than their age. We would be happy to work with government to examine the workability of a probationary rate for the national minimum wage that would take into account that it may take a number of months for an individual to get up to speed."