Case study

Portsmouth City Teaching Primary Care NHS Trust

Age Positive Champion

We are an NHS Primary Care Trust and deliver the health services that are needed by the local community. We have staff ranging in age from 16 to 73 working in a variety of areas across the trust.

As an effective organisation we need to recognise and utilise the skills, knowledge and experience of every member of staff and all ages.

Liza Nelson, Workforce Planner and Data Analyst

OUR AGE POSITIVE GOOD PRACTICE:

We monitor the age of our workforce and new recruits to ensure that we are fair and follow the good practice of our anti-discrimination policy.

People want more choice about when they work and we don't think anyone should be penalised for this. We have various arrangements that offer all staff flexible working and a work-life balance. These are not age-restricted.

Flexible retirement

We realise that not everyone wants to simply 'give up working' just because they have reached a certain point in their life. We offer a range of flexible retirement options: flexi-hours, reduced hours, stepping down to maintain a similar position with less responsibility. In nursing, for example, this may mean moving from a high workload to a more general nursing role. We also have 'bank' contracts which are an as-and-when contract so that the person can choose when they work. And we have retainer schemes for clinical staff that allow them to take part in clinics and sessions but perhaps not as many as before.

Pensions are arranged so that there is no loss of benefits for staff who choose to continue working.

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