We are looking at older workers’ continued participation in the workforce in today’s ’12 Days of Christmas’ bulletin.
Look out for the next edition tomorrow.
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Age in the Workplace
Ireland’s ageing workforce was the focus of William Fry’s Age in the Workplace Report 2019, published in September.
Of those employees surveyed for our report, 61% anticipated working beyond the age of 66, reflecting the trend for workers to retire later in life than previous generations. Only 32% of respondents actually wanted to work beyond 66, suggesting that for many longer working is a matter of financial necessity.
Future increases in the state pension age are likely to encourage people to extend their working lives. At present, a worker can draw their state pension at 66 but this will rise to 67 in 2021 and then 68 in 2028.
Click here to read the report in full including our guidance on what employers can do in response to the changing age profile of their workforces. You can also listen to Catherine O’Flynn’s interviews with RTE and Today FM about the findings of the report by clicking here.
Mandatory Retirement
The title of November’s client Breakfast Briefing posed the question “Mandatory Retirement – A Thing of the Past?” Employment Partner Jeff Greene and Pensions Partner Ian Devlin hosted a large audience of clients to discuss this topical issue. We recorded the session so, if you missed it, please feel free to contact us. We are planning to re-run the session in our Cork office in the New Year.
Age Discrimination Litigation
We saw a dramatic rise in the number of age discrimination disputes coming before the Workplace Relations Commission in 2018, which may be a by-product of older workers remaining in the labour market for longer. In 2018, age discrimination claims were by far the most-claimed discrimination ground in the WRC. The potential cost of such a claim can be significant in both financial and reputational terms.
In July, we commented on Google’s $11m settlement of an age discrimination class action brought in the US. The claimants, who were unsuccessful job applicants aged over 40, alleged that Google’s recruitment practices were discriminatory. Despite settling the litigation, Google denied the allegations.
You can read our article on this case by clicking here. We advised employers to:
- ensure that their recruitment materials are non-discriminatory;
- train interviewers so they can recognise their own biases; and
- aim for diversity on interview panels.
Taking these steps will reduce the risk of age discrimination claims arising from a recruitment process.
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