Nearly half the UK workforce to work beyond 65

News Article - 08 November 2010
Category: Business

According to a new study released by the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD), four in 10 employees plan to work beyond the current UK default retirement age of 65.

A further 29 per cent of the 2000 respondents to the report, entitled 'Employee Outlook: Focus on the Ageing Workforce',do not plan to work past 65. Twenty-five per cent are unsure of their intentions.

The survey helped the CIPD shape its response to the Government's consultative procedures on whether to phase out the Default Retirement Age (DRA) by October 2011. Almost half of respondents (44 per cent) oppose the right of employers to retire employees when they reach 65, whilst 25 per cent support it.

Broken down by demographic, older workers tend to be less supportive of the DRA than younger workers. Six in 10 (56 per cent) of over-55s oppose it compared to just 35 per cent of 18-24 year olds.

Of those employees that do want to work past 65, 72 per cent of respondents cited financial stability as the main impetus. Other key reasons included people's needs and aspirations to continue using their skills and experience (47 per cent), benefits of social interaction in the workplace (41 per cent) and self-esteem (34 per cent).

For employers, the study identifies key criterion on which mandatory retirement decisions should be made. These include health (64 per cent), personal performance (62 per cent) and availability of a suitable job (31 per cent). Employees do seem to understand the need for employers to make difficult decisions; only 13 per cent of employees believe employers shouldn't be able to retire employees using these criterion.

Providing for employees that wish to continue working past 65, and for those that don't, is just one of the challenges faced by HR departments. Without an accurate understanding of the diversity of needs in the workplace, employers will find it difficult to satisfy all employees which can lead to resentment and productivity losses.

Access HR software can help improve the ability of companies to satisfy employer demands by building up a snapshot of individual employee needs. The powerful learning and development modules allow organisations to set up levels of access for each employee and to enable them to update personal information. By collating responses to key questions, businesses can more easily see what employees want and how this is broken down by demographic, which can drive future HR policy.

For more information, please call Access on 0845 345 3300.

Article keywords: Access HR software, Access learning and development modules, Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development, CIPD, Employee Outlook, Focus on the Ageing Workforce

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