Case study

Aberdeen City Council

Age Positive Champion

Changing demographics and lifestyles coupled with current and future business needs had a major influence on why we decided to introduce our age-neutral policy. We are an organisation which values ability rather than age and this is consistent with our commitment to equality and diversity, with a positive approach to older people.

Our age-neutral policy widens our pool of potential job applicants and also means we keep our highly skilled and experienced staff who would otherwise have had to retire. This is vital for jobs in which we experience recruitment difficulties and skills shortages.

Richard Parker, Corporate Director of Personnel and Organisational Development

OUR AGE POSITIVE GOOD PRACTICE:

• We introduced an age-neutral policy in April 2003 which effectively removed the previous age limit on recruitment and formally introduced a flexible retirement age.
• Employees approaching the 'normal' retirement age have the option of extending their employment - and this option has already been taken up by a number of employees across a diverse range of occupations.
• Individuals age 65 and over are eligible to apply for our vacancies.
• Age monitoring forms part of our overall diversity and equalities monitoring process, applied to recruitment and selection.
• We promote our age neutral policy within our recruitment literature and at careers events.

As well as having a wider pool of potential job applicants and retaining highly skilled and experienced staff, we also believe that our age-neutral policy creates a positive image of our organisation and makes Aberdeen City Council an employer of choice.

OUR AGE POLICY:

Aberdeen City Council - Retirement arrangements and the employment of persons age 65 and over. (Initially approved by Personnel Committee on 6 October 1998, updated by Resources Management Committee on 1 April 2003)

1. Introduction

1.1 The Resources Management Committee on 1 April 2003 authorised the introduction of an age-neutral policy within the Council which effectively removed the existing age limit on recruitment and formally introduced a flexible retirement age.

1.2 The purpose of an age-neutral policy where the Council values ability, rather than age, is consistent with the Council's commitment to equality and diversity and is designed to help the Council achieve its aim of becoming 'an employer of choice' and of having a positive approach to older people.

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2. Implementing flexible retirement and pre-retirement arrangements

2.1 As employees approach the 'normal' retirement age, there is a need for the appropriate service management to establish well before the employee is due to retire whether the employee intends to retire on their 65th birthday or extend their employment. This is to ensure that the necessary administrative and support arrangements are put in place at an early juncture. An appropriate officer within the employee's service should therefore arrange to meet with the employee a year before they are due to retire to establish the employee's intentions and take matters forward. The employee should thereafter receive a letter to confirm the outcome of this meeting.

2.2 Employees who elect to retire at 'normal' retirement age.

2.2.1 For those employees who wish to retire on their 65th birthday, the meeting ill help ensure that all the necessary pre-retirement arrangements are put in place to help the employee prepare for their retirement (e.g. assessment of eligibility for 'salary in last year of service' condition/long service award, application of the phased retirement scheme, attendance on a pre-retirement course and annual leave arrangements). The officer conducting the meeting should also make it known to the employee that he/she will be the contact officer should he/she require assistance in the lead up to retirement. Establishing that the employee wishes to retire at age 65 at this early juncture will also enable the service to make early preparations to replace the employee once they retire.

2.3 Employees who elect to extend their employment beyond 'normal' retirement age.

2.3.1 The meeting will also provide the employee with the opportunity to express their intention to extend their employment beyond their 65th birthday if they so wish. This decision is at the employee's discretion and should not be subject to a medical check unless there are genuine concerns about the employee's ability to continue working in their post.

2.3.2 In these circumstances, the employee should indicate when they would wish to retire so that the pre-retirement arrangements set out in paragraph 2.2 can be put in place at the appropriate time. The employee should thereafter be issued with a 'variation of contract of employment' letter to confirm the extension to their employment.

2.3.3 Age is not to be regarded as a reliable indicator of someone's ability to adequately perform their job and regular risk assessments, as required for all employees regardless of age, should help determine whether someone is capable of continuing to discharge their duties to the required standard. At the same time, management needs to ensure that older workers are given a 'dignified' exit from their contract of employment where they are no longer able to perform their job and this issue is best addressed by having an effective performance appraisal in place, which covers health and safety implications. This is the responsibility of line managers and could be incorporated within meetings under a performance appraisal scheme, or simply an annual meeting between the employee and his/her line manager if no such scheme is yet in place.

2.3.4 The payroll section and in the case of pension scheme members, the pensions section, needs to be notified in cases where an employee has elected to extend their employment beyond the 'normal' retirement age. Pension Scheme members who elect to do so will have their pension benefits frozen - no further contributions can be made nor pensionable service accrued.

2.3.5 Employees who initially indicate that they wish to retire and then subsequently wish to extend their employment may do so provided they notify their line manager at least 6 months prior to the date they were due to retire. This is the point at which the employee would otherwise have commenced their phased retirement arrangement (provided they meet the eligibility criteria).

2.3.6 Employees who elect to extend their employment will still have the opportunity of 'phased retirement' through the agreed scheme 6 months prior to their 'new' retirement date provided they meet the qualifying criteria.

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3.0 Recruitment of persons age 65 and over

3.1 In order to effectively apply equality and best practice in the recruitment and election of staff, recruiters need to appoint on merit, and on merit alone, and as such it is the relevance of someone`s skills and experience that is critical in assessing their suitability for employment rather than how old they are. Individuals age 65 and over are therefore eligible to apply for Council job vacancies and need to be considered on an equal basis as any other applicant. For example, such individuals should not automatically be subjected to a pre-employment check simply because of their age whilst the same checks are not being carried out for younger people.

3.2 The Pension Regulations do not allow new employees over age 65 to join the Local Government Pension Scheme.

4.0 Further advice

4.1 Further guidance on implementing the foregoing arrangements can be obtained from the Personnel and Organisational Development Service.

• Focus on Age Positive Scotland

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