Government Adviser Endorses REC Plans for Older Workers Pledge - REC

Responding to a report published today by Dr Ros Altmann, the government’s Business Champion for Older Workers, about the challenges faced by older workers, the Recruitment and Employment Confederation (REC) announces plans for an ‘Older Workers Pledge’. To be developed with Age UK, the country’s largest charity working with and for older people, it will aid the professional body for the recruitment industry raise awareness of the issue and champion best practice.

REC chief executive Kevin Green says:

“Older workers can face unique challenges in the jobs market which recruiters can help them address. The ultimate decision as to who is employed does not lie with recruiters, however, they have a duty to ensure they are compiling diverse long and short lists, and challenging unconscious bias wherever it arises. We are delighted to be working with Age UK to develop a new approach which aims to help more businesses realise the benefits that come from employing older workers. 

“REC members have long recognised the importance of diversity in the workforce and ‘respect for diversity’ is one of the key principles in our Code for Professional Practice.  Any evidence of discrimination can be addressed under the Equality Act 2010 as ‘age’ is one of the eight protected characteristics. We’re looking forward to working with government to raise awareness of this issue and launching our Older Workers Pledge later this year.”

Dr Ros Altmann, the government’s Business Champion for Older Workers says:

“The recruitment industry has a really important role to play in facilitating the move towards fuller working lives and increased later life employment.  With an ageing population, many of whom would like to work longer, businesses and recruiters have a wide pool of skills and experience available. Too often the talents of older applicants can be overlooked. That is why I am so pleased to hear that the REC is leading the way by setting high standards for the recruitment industry and encouraging positive steps to address any unconscious bias or discrimination in the recruitment process.”

Ends

Notes to editors:

1. There were 8.1 million workers aged 50-64 and 1.1 million workers aged 65+ active in the UK labour market for the period Oct – Dec 2014, according to the latest figures from the Office for National Statistics.

2. Building on the success of other initiatives highlighting the importance of diversity in the workforce, including the REC’s Youth Employment Charter and gender diversity at board level, the REC has begun a dialogue with Age UK about how recruiters can pledge to better support older workers when they make their next career move. 

3. A survey of 200 employers published by the REC in January 2015 found that businesses need to improve the way they advertise jobs and provide training opportunities in order to attract older workers. Employers were asked to identify the most important change businesses should make to encourage applications from jobseekers aged 55 and over. Almost four in ten (37%) respondents highlighted issues around advertising, while a third (34%) indicated that they should be providing more opportunities for older workers to upskill or reskill. Twenty per cent said that businesses need to be more careful with language used in job adverts to avoid discouraging older workers. A further 17 per cent said that hirers need to look beyond posting jobs exclusively online to reach the widest pool of potential candidates.