Older workers and extended workforce participation
| Date | 01 June 2014 |
| Author | Therese MacDermott |
| Published date | 01 June 2014 |
| DOI | 10.1177/1358229113520211 |
| Subject Matter | Articles |
Article
Older workers and
extended workforce
participation: Moving
beyond the ‘barriers to
work’ approach
Therese MacDermott
Abstract
Many countries have responded to the prevailing fiscal and demographic challenges by
introducing measures to extend the workforce participation of older workers. This
paper assesses the type of measures commonly utilized to extend labour force partic-
ipation, using examples of legislative reforms and social policy initiatives in Australia, the
UK and other EU member states. It argues that these measures are principally aimed at
mandating or incentivising extended labour force participation, and lack a focus on
achieving substantive outcomes for older workers. This paper explores the type of
measures necessary to move beyond a ‘barriers to work’ approach, with a particular
emphasis on promoting and sustaining the inclusion of older workers through strategies
that encourage employer engagement in ascertaining and addressing structural impedi-
ments facing older workers, that facilitate flexible work practices and that implement a
reasonable adjustments approach.
Keywords
Age, workforce participation, discrimination
Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, Australia
Corresponding author:
Therese MacDermott, Macquarie Law School, Macquarie University, NSW 2109, Australia.
Email: therese.macdermott@mq.edu.au
International Journalof
Discrimination and theLaw
2014, Vol. 14(2) 83–98
ªThe Author(s) 2014
Reprints and permission:
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DOI: 10.1177/1358229113520211
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Introduction
Increased longevity and declining fertility shape the demographic landscape in many
developed countries. An ageing population puts pressure on national pensions, social
security, health care and aged care systems. Declining fertility threatens efforts to main-
tain a broad tax base of working persons to meet these future costs, and generates asso-
ciated concerns regarding skills shortages and competition for such labour. Over the last
decade many countries have sought to respond to these challenges by introducing a range
of measures to extend the workforce participation of older workers, with a view to reduc-
ing reliance on pensions and social security entitlements and to prolonging taxation con-
tributions. While these measures are premised on the expectation that older workers will
be able to extend their workforce participation, there is no guarantee that employers
share this vision or will actively seek to employ or retain older workers.
There has been slow progress made in increasing participation rates of older workers
(Marin and Zaidi, 2007). Although employment rates for older workers have increased in
the last decade, the figures across all EU member states show that only three out of 10 in
the 60–64 age cohort are in employment (European Foundation for the Improvement of
Living and Working Conditions, 2012). Despite the clear fiscal and demographic logic of
keeping workers engaged with the paid workforce for longer, the pervasive negative
stereotypes about the employability of older workers and concerns about their productive
capacity have not shifted to match the new policy agenda (Dadl, 2012; Patrickson and
Ranzijin, 2005: 730). There is also the related argument that workers themselves need
to accept the necessity of working longer (European Foundation for the Improvement
of Living and Working Conditions, 2013: 42).
Cultural norms and community expectations about the appropriate timing of an end
to workforce participation have often been constructed around pens ionable age or man-
datory retirement age. Changing those norms and expectations involves a range of dif-
ferent ‘push’ and ‘pull’ factors. Prospective retirement income is clearly a highly
influential factor, as well as health and physical capacity, working conditions and job
satisfaction. Setting aside these individual preferences, working longer becomes a
necessity where access to pensions and other retirement income is denied until an indi-
vidual attains an extended age-based eligibility criteria. Alternatively, a more nuanced
approach is one that provides incentives that make working longer more attractive
financially, or imposes financial disincentives to early retirement. However, while
these approaches involve implementing a requirement or incentive for working longer,
they do not encompass a strategy to ensure that opportunities to work actually exist or
remain for older workers.
This paper begins with considering why the attribute of age presents particular chal-
lenges for workplace regulation. It then assesses the type of measures commonly
employed in developed countries
1
to bring about extended labour force participation,
in particular using examples of legislative reforms and social policy initiatives in Aus-
tralia, the UK and other EU member states. This paper identifies the principal focus
of these measures as being on overcoming or removing ‘barriers to work,’ without due
regard to the need to ensure that opportunities for extended workforce participation actu-
ally exist. It also examines the limitations of pursing rights for older workers through an
84 International Journal of Discrimination and the Law 14(2)
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