Documents Sargeant, Malcolm 10 results

"This article is prompted by the abolition in the UK of the default retirement age; in particular, it will consider the impact on individuals seeking, or in continuing work, and on organisations needing to manage older workers. Underpinning the article is the hypothesis that as the removal of a compulsory retirement age allows an increasing number of people to work beyond their 65th birthday, organisations will need to develop policies to cope with increasing numbers of workers in their late 60s, 70s and beyond. Here, we focus on the need for employers to plan for an ageing workforce in respect of the health and safety issues which will result from employing increasing numbers of older workers. Firstly, the article considers what evidence exists as to whether there will be an increase in the number of older workers. Secondly, it examines decisions of the European Court of Justice and the Supreme Court in relation to retirement age and the possibility of an employer justified retirement age. Finally, it focuses on the occupational health and safety issues faced by older workers and those for whom they work."

"The Communication from the European Commission entitled 'Europe 2020: A Strategy for Smart, Sustainable and Inclusive Growth' includes the headline target of an employment rate of 75% of the population. This target employment rate is to be reached by, among others, increasing the involvement of older people in the work force and removing the obstacles to their employment. This article considers the employment rate of older workers, both from a historical and predictive standpoint. The makeup of the older European Union (EU) labour force and the types of work engaged in are discussed, with the United Kingdom and Italy as detailed examples. Initiatives at EU level are considered, including initiatives to tackle age discrimination at work and the call for more flexible labour markets. Consideration is then given to the United States as an example of a deregulated labour market. Trends in American older worker employment are examined. From this, the authors draw several lessons from the US experience and offer tentative conclusions about the way forward for the European labour market."

"The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations, which implement the Framework Directive on Equal Treatment and Occupation, take effect in October 2006. Tackling age discrimination is seen to be a means of achieving a more diverse workforce, yet in trying to achieve this objective there have been compromises with the principle of non-discrimination. During the consultation exercises preceding the Regulations there have been important differences of approach between employers and trade unions. The Government has, mostly, adopted the approach supported by employers. The result is a set of Regulations, which, although an important step forward in tackling age discrimination, have numbers of exceptions which effectively legitimise some aspects of age discrimination at work. "

"The EU has now embraced so many national states with such a wide range of economic structures that it cannot be supposed that health and safety arrangements will be the same in every Member State, even though all are required to implement the same EC directives relating to the health and safety of the workforce. This paper attempts to address the health and safety of those in new, and possibly precarious, forms of employment in the UK. It does so in the context of the situation in the EU as indicated by a number of research reports."

"This article considers the default retirement age adopted in the UK in 2006. It is an exception to the principle of equal treatment and requires an objective justification as a legitimate aim with appropriate and necessary means to achieving that aim. Reasons why a traditional retirement age existed are considered together with a consideration of the development of government policy in this regard. Government policy has largely followed that of employers' wishes. Judgments of the European Court of Justice in relation to proportionality and age discrimination are examined and the case brought by Age UK against the government is looked at in more detail. "

"The Framework Directive on Equal Treatment in Employment and Occupation applies to all those in employment, with respect to preventing discrimination on the grounds of age. This article is concerned with the effects of this upon young workers, rather than older workers who are the traditional focus for much of the research on age. Consideration is given to relevant cases at the European Court of Justice (ECJ), as well as in the UK. There is also an examination of the limited research done on this subject and a justification of the need for more."

"This article considers the issues associated with the use of quota systems for the employment of workers with a disability. It examines the use and experiences of such quotas in Italy, Russia and the United Kingdom. Italy has a long established quota system for the employment of such workers, whilst the modern Russian system is a more recent innovation. In contrast, the UK abandoned quotas in the 1990s. The article draws on the experiences of the three countries to consider generally whether the use of quotas is an acceptable means of encouraging employers to take on disabled workers, or necessary to achieve this objective. "