Working past Age 65 - Blackpool



1. Background

1.1 This procedure sets out the factors which should be taken into account when considering requests from staff and details their right of appeal, where this exists.

1.5 Unless there are exceptional (see 5.1) reasons, such as a post being particularly hard to fill, the maximum working age for any member of staff allowed to continue beyond 65 will be 70. (An example of an exception might be school crossing patrol staff, who are required to work for a limited number of hours per week during term-time and where these are broken down into “shifts” of only an hour or so at a time.) Consideration will apply to the post, not the postholder.

2. Scope

2.1 This procedure applies to all permanent, temporary, full-time and part-time staff employed by Blackpool Council. It does not apply to certain schools-based staff where they are employed directly by the school.

3. The Procedure for Considering Requests (See Checklist (Appendix 1) and Supplementary Guidance for Managers (Appendix 2))

3.1 Staff who wish to work beyond age 65 should put their request, in writing, to their Head of Service at least 6 months before their 65th birthday. This time limit may be varied in exceptional circumstances.

3.2 In the first instance, the Head of Service or nominated manager should contact Human Resources for advice. If there are any redundancies pending within the Authority, or if staff under retirement age on the redeployment list are suitable for the job in question, prior consideration must be given to those staff. An exception to this will be where there would be clear disadvantages to losing a particular member of staff and where services would be disrupted. Exceptions must be agreed by the Corporate HR Manager and will be for an initial period of no more than 12 months.

3.3 Where requests are refused on the grounds that this would prevent the continued employment of staff under normal retirement age, there is no right of appeal.

3.4 Health and Attendance

3.4.1 If the restriction in 3.2 does not apply, the Head of Service or nominated manager will first consider the sickness record of the employee to ensure that absence levels are satisfactory. In taking this into account, consideration should be given to the overall record, so that one off periods of absence (e.g. for an operation) are not given undue weight. Comparing the sickness absence record to the average for the division will usually be a reasonable benchmark in deciding if the person’s record is “acceptable”. An individual's age in itself should not be used to make judgments about their abilities or fitness. Where such a judgment is required, the Occupational Health Advisor should be consulted. Account will also be taken of their ability to carry out the full range of duties of the post. Where staff may be covered by the Disability Discrimination Act, advice must be sought from Human Resources before making any decisions.

3.4.2 Where a request from a member of staff to continue in their current post is refused on the grounds of health and attendance, there will be a right of appeal dating from their being informed in writing of this decision.

3.4.3 If the sickness record is considered satisfactory, then Occupational Health will still be asked to confirm fitness for continued employment and advise on the frequency of further medical assessments (at least every two years). If this is not confirmed, the request will be refused and there will be no right of appeal.

3.4.4 If the sickness record is satisfactory, managers will move on to consider conduct and performance issues.

3.5 Conduct / Performance

3.5.1 The Head of Service or nominated manager will consider the overall performance and conduct record of the member of staff. In doing so, they should take into account any action under the disciplinary and capability procedures, along with staff appraisals and any measurable work outputs. It is therefore incumbent on all managers to deal with any conduct / performance or similar issues with staff nearing (or above) normal retirement age in the same way as with younger workers.

3.5.2 Where requests are refused on the basis of conduct or performance, the member of staff will have a right of appeal.

3.6 Health and Safety

3.6.1 Where a request has not been refused on the grounds detailed above, the Head of Service or nominated manager should involve their departmental Health and Safety Officer in conducting a risk assessment of the job being performed, taking particular account of risks to older staff.

3.6.2 If the risk assessment highlights an unacceptable risk, which cannot be avoided by reasonable control measures, then the request will be refused and the member of staff will have a right of appeal.

3.7 Extension of Employment

3.7.1 Where a request to work beyond normal retirement age is agreed in principle, the member of staff may be referred to Occupational Health if this has not already occurred, to finally confirm medical fitness and determine the length of the extension period.

3.7.2 Extensions will be reviewed at specified periods and will be dependent on continued satisfactory health (including eye tests etc where relevant), attendance, performance, conduct and risk assessments. All employees wishing to continue in employment beyond 65 will be subject to a review of their medical fitness at intervals of not less than two years.

3.7.3 Rights of appeal against decisions not to allow further extensions will be as for the original request process.

4. Other Considerations

4.1 If there are any other substantial reasons for refusing a request, these will be communicated in writing to the member of staff.

4.2 Where a manager or a member of staff feels that they have exceptional circumstances for the purposes of this procedure, they should detail these in writing to the Corporate HR Manager, who will make the final decision, which will be notified to the parties in writing.

4.3 Some staff will be eligible to continue paying into the Local Government Pension Scheme. Staff should contact the Pensions Helpdesk (01772 264864) for advice on their individual circumstances.

5. Right of Appeal

5.1 Where members of staff have a right of appeal, this will be directly to the Employment and Appeals Committee. Appeals should be made in writing within 14 days of being notified of the decision not to allow their request.

APPENDIX 1: Checklist for Considering Requests

|No |Question |Response |Action |Right of appeal |

|1. |Could staff whose employment is at |YES |refuse unless exceptional circumstances in which case proceed to |None |

| |risk be redeployed into the | |question 2 | |

| |applicant’s post? | | | |

| | |NO |proceed to question 2 |n/a |

|2. |Does the applicant have a |YES |confirm fitness with OH and continue to question 3 |n/a |

| |satisfactory sickness record? | | | |

| | |NO |refuse request |Yes |

|3. |Are there any conduct or |YES |refuse request |Yes |

| |performance issues justifying a | | | |

| |refusal? | | | |

| | |NO |continue to question 4 |n/a |

|4. |Are there any health and safety |YES |refuse request |Yes |

| |reasons to justify a refusal? | | | |

| | |NO |agree request |n/a |

| | | |repeat medical assessment at agreed periods of not less than 2 | |

| | | |years | |

|5. |Are there any other substantial |YES |refuse request |Yes |

| |reasons to justify refusal? | | | |

| | |NO |agree request. |n/a |

APPENDIX 2: Supplementary Guidance for Managers

General Principles

The Council recognises the cost of losing highly skilled, qualified and experienced employees and the need to employ a workforce that reflects the diversity of the community. Currently, there is no direct statutory protection from discrimination on the grounds of age. However, the Equal Treatment Framework Directive requires the UK to implement national legislation preventing age discrimination in employment by 2006. The key areas covered are:

• direct and indirect age discrimination in employment and vocational training;

• recruitment, selection and promotion;

• different treatment on the grounds of age;

• mandatory retirement ages;

• unfair dismissal law;

• redundancy payment rules.

The use of age, age bands and age-related criteria reduces objectivity in employment decision-making and increases the likelihood of inappropriate decisions. Employment decisions based on age are contrary to Blackpool Council’s Equal Opportunities Policy and are never justifiable because:

• age is not a genuine employment criterion;

• age is a poor predictor of performance;

• it is misleading to equate physical and mental ability with age.

The efficient and effective use of people's skills requires that employment decisions should be based on competencies, qualifications, skills, potential and objective job-related criteria obtained through careful analysis of job requirements and job performance. Organisations should also consider the advantages of using retirees as mentors to pass on experience and develop other employees through use of their knowledge and expertise.

The Benefits of Employing Older Workers

• demographic changes are altering the age profile of the labour market which will soon contain more people aged over 40 than under 40. It is estimated that by 2010, 40 per cent of the workforce will be over 45, with 17 per cent under 24;

• evidence shows that differences in absenteeism between age groups are slight;

• pension funds are having to adjust to the ageing of the population;

• many employers are already taking action on age discrimination as a way of keeping ahead of their competitors;

• more people are living longer, active and healthier lives;

• older workers stay in their jobs longer than younger people;

• age discrimination leads to under-achievement, reduced self-confidence and motivation, lower self-esteem and loss of personal income and status;

• over-targeting of favoured age groups can lead to inflated labour costs;

• findings from many studies show that younger and older workers are on average equally effective in their work;

• research shows that, given the right training, older people are just as capable of learning new skills as younger people.

Further Guidance on Dealing with Requests under this Procedure

Health and Attendance / Conduct and Performance

It is recognised that, where a member of staff is nearing their 65th birthday, managers are often reluctant to tackle issues around poor attendance or performance. This is because such staff often have many years’ service and are respected individuals, who managers wish to see retire with dignity. Equally, attendance and performance procedures may be seen as time-consuming and it is felt unnecessary to pursue these avenues when somebody is nearing retirement.

The Individual Performance Appraisal system will assist you in monitoring performance on an ongoing basis. The Authority also has a new Managing Attendance Policy and Procedure and a new Occupational Health Service.

This procedure is a useful “stepping stone” between the current position (where it is generally taken for granted that staff will leave on or before their 65th birthday) and the new legal position we will be faced with in 2006. This is an opportunity for the Authority to learn any lessons on managing staff over 65 years old. This does and must include dealing with problematic issues as they arise, in the same way as you would with members of staff in any other age group. If you make an assumption that somebody will be leaving when they reach 65 (perhaps because they have stated this is likely) and because of this you fail to tackle issues, then it will be very difficult to later justify refusing a request to continue in employment on the grounds of attendance or performance.

As a guide, in order to justify refusing a request on these grounds, you will normally be expected to show that you have followed the appropriate procedure, e.g. poor performance or sickness / attendance procedures.

The key message for managers is to shift your attention from the age difference and treat older workers the same as anyone else - with dignity and respect.

Useful References:

Leaflet from Local Government Employer on Recognising and Making Full use of the Older Worker:



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