Businesses must put more effort into engaging elderly workers in order to remain on the right side of employment legislation.
Employers must provide their older workers the same level of training and performance management as they do the rest of their staff or risk legal action when the default retirement age (DRA) becomes obsolete.
The phase-out of the DRA requires organisations to focus on improving the performance of older workers or face discrimination claims if there is a dispute over employee capability.
Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) revealed that a significant number of employers may be placing themselves at risk of discrimination claims because they are neglecting older workers.
The CIPD discovered that just 46 per cent of employers aged 65 and over have had their performance formally appraised on a regular basis compared to 65 per cent of workers of all ages.
It was also reported that older employees do not have the same opportunity to receive training as just over half of staff aged over 65 said that they had been given no guidance over the previous three years in comparison to one third of all workers.
This research demonstrates that many organisations are guilty of neglecting their older workers and this can damage business productivity and workplace morale which affects all employees.
It is also the responsibility of employers to ensure that they adapt the working practices and the workplace environment to meet the requirements of elderly and less physically able staff.
Employers with elderly and physically impaired workers should looking into providing access to occupational health services, offering reduced hours and implementing flexible working.
Dianah Worman, CIPD diversity adviser, said that organisations must be more understanding of the requirements of their employees.
She said: "Employers need to do more to provide reasonable adjustments for workers of all ages to enable them to carry on working in light of physical or mental health difficulties, or indeed caring responsibilities."
British businesses may have to provide more employees with flexible working hours as the coalition government has announced plans to extend the right to request flexible working to all workers.
Organisations should employ the services of performance improvement consulting experts if they are unsure how the phasing-out of the DRA will affect their business processes.
Performance improvement consulting professionals can also help organisations maximise the potential of their elderly employees by discovering ways to enhance efficiency through the application of business theory.
Employers must provide their older workers the same level of training and performance management as they do the rest of their staff or risk legal action when the default retirement age (DRA) becomes obsolete.
The phase-out of the DRA requires organisations to focus on improving the performance of older workers or face discrimination claims if there is a dispute over employee capability.
Research by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) revealed that a significant number of employers may be placing themselves at risk of discrimination claims because they are neglecting older workers.
The CIPD discovered that just 46 per cent of employers aged 65 and over have had their performance formally appraised on a regular basis compared to 65 per cent of workers of all ages.
It was also reported that older employees do not have the same opportunity to receive training as just over half of staff aged over 65 said that they had been given no guidance over the previous three years in comparison to one third of all workers.
This research demonstrates that many organisations are guilty of neglecting their older workers and this can damage business productivity and workplace morale which affects all employees.
It is also the responsibility of employers to ensure that they adapt the working practices and the workplace environment to meet the requirements of elderly and less physically able staff.
Employers with elderly and physically impaired workers should looking into providing access to occupational health services, offering reduced hours and implementing flexible working.
Dianah Worman, CIPD diversity adviser, said that organisations must be more understanding of the requirements of their employees.
She said: "Employers need to do more to provide reasonable adjustments for workers of all ages to enable them to carry on working in light of physical or mental health difficulties, or indeed caring responsibilities."
British businesses may have to provide more employees with flexible working hours as the coalition government has announced plans to extend the right to request flexible working to all workers.
Organisations should employ the services of performance improvement consulting experts if they are unsure how the phasing-out of the DRA will affect their business processes.
Performance improvement consulting professionals can also help organisations maximise the potential of their elderly employees by discovering ways to enhance efficiency through the application of business theory.
No comments:
Post a Comment