04 July 2003
The government's anti-age discrimination proposals unveiled this week should not force employees to work until they 'burn out' before they qualify for pensions, Unison has warned.
The plans, outlined by Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt, would abolish mandatory retirement ages and allow employees to work beyond the age of 70.
Unions gave the 'anti-ageism' consultation paper a cautious welcome. But it also came under immediate suspicion as being a ploy to plug the UK's pensions black hole – estimated at £15bn in local government alone.
It also comes in the wake of the Department for Work and Pensions green paper, dubbed the 'work until you drop agenda', which suggested extending the retirement age from 65 to at least 70.
'The pressure for change should come from employees who want to continue working because of increased job satisfaction, not because the rules of the pension scheme force them to stay until they burn out and become unemployable,' warned Dave Prentis, Unison general secretary.
But the NHS Confederation said Hewitt's proposals would provide more flexibility for employees who wanted to work beyond retirement age. It also fits in with the confederation's work on the NHS Pension Scheme Modernisation Review.
'The effect of the DTI proposals is therefore likely to be to accelerate trends already in place in relation to the employment of older workers,' said Mike Evershed, the confederation's project manager.
Hewitt hailed the consultation paper, which is open until October, as ending the 'last bastion of lawful unfair discrimination in the workplace'. Under the proposals, it would be unlawful to discriminate on grounds of age in work and vocational training. There will be some exceptions including posts that require high levels of fitness and concentration.
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