Equality Bill

My Lords, these amendments, which I support, have been grouped with my own Amendment 104, to which I should also like to speak. As the noble Lord, Lord Lester, has indicated, this is a discussion about the default retirement age. This matter has been raised in the House on a number of occasions and the Government have indicated that it will be reviewed in, I think, 2011. However, the Bill gives an opportunity for the review to take place now, and there is no doubt that there is considerable pressure for that to happen. Interestingly, Saga Magazine, which is devoted to the interests of older people, has produced a manifesto for older people which it says is based on considerable research. It calls for the end of the default retirement age. It says that this is in line with the demands of older people. Nine out of 10 people polled thought that it was unfair and said that they would have liked to continue working if they had had the chance to do so. Forced retirement is seen as an anachronism from the past when life was shorter and rigid working patterns were the norm. The demand now is that flexible working arrangements should be available so that older people can continue in appropriate forms of work, which would be to their advantage. The employer will benefit from having older people with experience, skills and more commitment in the workforce. I emphasise that this should be a matter of choice for older people and should not be imposed on them as a result of poverty or because there are inadequate pension arrangements. However, the Government have an opportunity in this Bill to deal with the review in the way that has been suggested. As regards Amendment 104, your Lordships may recall that some time ago we had a debate in this House about the employment rights of older workers, which was prompted by a number of issues. Obviously, we are all living longer, which is a cause for celebration, although it causes governments and private providers to reconsider pension arrangements. There was some evidence that when older workers became redundant they found it much more difficult to secure other employment. There were increasing concerns about the social care of older people, which caused everyone to consider their situation. As I have said, there is a fair amount of agreement that we may all have to consider working beyond what is considered to be the normal retirement age. I and others feel that it could probably be dealt with now through the review that we have indicated. The Government clearly want a longer time before the state pension is paid. Of course, there are always likely to be occupations where it is advisable to have an early retirement arrangement; for example, on safety grounds, as in the construction industry. But many jobs could quite well be done by older people, perhaps with the benefit of their experience and their skill. However, there is not much point in extending the time in which people are expected to continue in work and therefore do not receive the state pension if no work is available for them and they simply switch to jobseekers’ allowance instead of receiving the pension. Work of an appropriate kind must be available. We are seeking a more flexible approach from many employers. Age discrimination should be firmly outlawed. Things have to change. My amendment seeks the introduction of what could be called "age auditing". Something similar is provided in the Bill in regard to gender. Why not do it for age? Demographic changes will make it necessary for us to reconsider many of our attitudes. I therefore urge the Government, even if they do not accept our wording, at least to consider the introduction of something along these lines. There are benefits in taking steps to encourage people who wish to continue in work to enable them to do so. There are health benefits—older people with a continuing involvement in an appropriate work environment are healthier and feel less isolated. Employers benefit from having an older, experienced and often very committed number of older people in their workforce. The profiling suggested in my amendment will generally assist towards that outcome. I commend the amendment to the Minister.