Mature workers news round up – February 2021

Recession leads to increased workplace ageism against women

Older women receive 40% fewer job interviews, a number that worsens as women age. Recent research by the National Bureau of Economic Research shows that down markets intensify the awfulness, because age discrimination spikes along with the unemployment rate. “For each one percentage point increase in the unemployment rate, the callback rate for an older woman goes down by 14% relative to a younger person.”  – Kenosha News, 28 February 2021

Europe’s ageing society: More labour mobility could help EU meet demand for health and long-term care workers

A report published by the Commission’s Joint Research Centre (JRC) says that the EU’s health and long-term care workforce will need to grow by 11 million workers between 2018 and 2030 to meet the demands of an ageing society. Much of the demand is being met by domestic education and training, while migration and intra-EU mobility plays an increasingly important role. In 2018, there were almost two million health and long-term care workers in the EU working in a country other than their country of birth. The JRC report recommends integrating current labour migration channels with more specific considerations for health and long-term care systems, while keeping in line with the WHO Global Code of Practice.  – EU Reporter, 26 February 2021

Budget debate: Job redesign, mindset change needed to better support older workers (Singapore)

More initiatives are needed to support older workers, such as redesigning jobs and pushing for a mindset change among employers and staff, MPs said on Thursday (Feb 25).  – The Straits Times, 25 February 2021

‘It breaks my heart’: Pandemic puts Malvern East business owner out of work at 58

Fiona Caffery never thought she’d be looking for a job at 58. The small business owner was planning on working for another five years before selling her travel agency, scaling back her hours and retiring.  – The Age, 24 February 2021

JobMaker could pay bosses to cut wages and jobs, warns Treasury

Employers could sack experienced employees, replace them with workers earning just a third of the salary and get a taxpayer-funded grant to do it, previously secret Treasury documents have revealed. JobMaker is intended to create new jobs — the ‘headcount’ of the business must increase — but the scheme immediately created concerns it would discriminate against older people in the jobs market.  – ABC News, 23 February 2021

Thailand- the first large country with a fertility problem yet without wealth to easily fund healthcare for the old

Thailand is facing a demographic crisis in about 15 years as things currently stand as the number of workers to cope with a rapidly ageing population dwindles.  – Thai Examiner, 14 February 2021

Employers turn to middle-aged workers as Taiwan population ages

Employers in Taiwan are increasingly turning to middle-aged and senior workers as the country ages rapidly, on the back of a shrinking population caused by a falling birth rate.  – Focus Taiwan, 13 February 2021

Deloitte expects partners will retire at 62 (Australia)

Big four consultancy Deloitte has an “expectation” that partners will retire at 62 years of age, according to documents filed in the Federal Court as part of a landmark age discrimination case that could shake up the partnership structures of large professional services firms.

The firm claimed the “expectation” to retire did not mean partners were obliged to do so, but employment lawyers warn this still runs afoul of discrimination laws.  – Australian Financial Review, 9 February 2021

Employees want increased flexibility after the pandemic

Employees with caring responsibilities fear the loss of flexibility later in the year as more sectors of the economy return to similar working patters as those prior to the Covid-19 pandemic.  – Personnel Today, 8 February 2021

They went bust in the Great Recession. Now, in their 80s, the pandemic took their jobs

Unemployed seniors typically have more trouble finding new jobs than younger workers. Dan and Grace Porte, who are in their mid-80s, lost their jobs at Target early in the Covid pandemic. That may present financial challenges. Dan and Grace supplemented Social Security with job income. The couple, from Richmond, Virginia, had worked together for decades. Now, the recession’s challenges have brought them even closer together.   – CNBC, 6 February 2021

‘Lost generation of unemployed’: Covid hits careers of over-50s (UK)

Older workers who lose their jobs are more than twice as likely as other age groups to be unemployed for at least two years.

Lisa Griffiths, a 61-year-old special needs nanny, has spent her career easily moving from one contract to the next. So when her last, five-year contract ended recently, she was shocked to find new employment opportunities far more limited than she had expected. Then, while she was considering her options, the pandemic hit and work dried up altogether.  – The Guardian, 4 February 2021

The crisis affecting employees that they’re too afraid to speak up about (USA)

It’s estimated that more than 41.8 million Americans are unpaid caregivers for another adult, according to a recently released AARP report. There are 8 million more caregivers today compared to five years prior. The COVID-19 pandemic has made caregiving for an ageing reality a new reality for even more Americans. After being isolated within long-term care facilities and unable to see family members due to safety precautions, older Americans are embracing another option — aging in place, often bringing along more responsibility to their adult children. For many families, this means that family homes are once again multi-generation, putting even more strain on caregivers who are now balancing caring for their kids and their parents.  – Employee Benefit News, 3 February 2021

Caregiving and COVID: Ways women can thrive at work and home

It is not hard to believe most American family caregivers also have paying jobs. In fact, over 29.2 million — a whopping 61 percent — hold down a job (or two) while caring for a loved one or friend. For years, there have been growing concerns about those caregivers leaving or losing employment due to family caregiving responsibilities. Add to that the so-called “caregiving cliff” — a time in the 2020s when it is expected there will be more people who need care than people able to provide it. Then last year, along came the coronavirus and everything changed. The pandemic instantaneously shed light on the plight of working caregivers and accelerated the need to make major changes in how our society supports them.  – AARP, 2 February 2021

Taiwan protects working rights of middle-aged and senior workers

The Middle-aged and Senior-aged Employment Act came into force on 4 December 2020 and seeks to protect the working rights of two groups – the middle-aged (45 to 65 years old) and the seniors (over 65 years old), covering both citizens and qualified foreigners.

Employers are not allowed to show differential treatment against employees or job seekers on the basis of age unless there is an applicable legal exception, eg, the rationale is based on the requirements or special features of the job. It requires employers to provide equal opportunities pertaining to recruitment, promotion, performance evaluation, training, remuneration and retirement.  – HRM Asia, 2 February 2021

Men detect more workplace discrimination than women, finds Finnish survey

Men detect workplace discrimination more often than women, suggests a survey commissioned by the Federation of Finnish Enterprises. The employer organisation reported yesterday that male respondents to the survey detected significantly more discrimination based on age, health, political views, ethnic background or sexual orientation at their workplace than women. Age-based discrimination, the survey found, is the most common form of workplace discrimination in the country, with 16 per cent of respondents reporting they have detected it. The only forms of discrimination that were detected equally by men and women were discrimination based on the gender (11%) and part-time status (12%) of employees.  – Helsinki Times, 1 February 2021

Debate about extending retirement age (Malaysia)

The slightly longer lifespan of Malaysians today has recently brought about the debate of whether a higher retirement age should be pursued as an official policy.

While this observation is prevalent, there are concerns on the other end of this argument that officially allowing higher retirement ages may hinder employment opportunities for those who are new to the workforce.  – The Star, 1 February 2021

Men detect more workplace discrimination than women, finds Finnish survey

Men detect workplace discrimination more often than women, suggests a survey commissioned by the Federation of Finnish Enterprises. The employer organisation reported yesterday that male respondents to the survey detected significantly more discrimination based on age, health, political views, ethnic background or sexual orientation at their workplace than women.

Age-based discrimination, the survey found, is the most common form of workplace

discrimination in the country, with 16 per cent of respondents reporting they have detected it. The only forms of discrimination that were detected equally by men and women were discrimination based on the gender (11%) and part-time status (12%) of employees.  – Helsinki Times, 1 February 2021