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Employer responses to an ageing workforce: a qualitative study

Denne rapporten ser på hvordan arbeidsgivere håndterer en aldrende arbeidsstyrke i England - rapporten er utarbeidet av Centre for Research into the Older Workforce påvegne av Department for Work and Pensions.Studien er basert på 70 intervjuer blant ansatte i engelske virksomheter.

The report represents the findings of a qualitative study of 70 firms, across nine occupational sectors, with a wide geographical spread. During the summer of 2006, one individual was interviewed in each firm, generally either a senior human resource (HR) manager or a general manager. This study sought to explore in more depth some of the issues identified in the previous quantitative survey conducted in 2004/05 by Metcalf and Meadows (Metcalf & Meadows 2006).

The Age Regulations cover discrimination at any age, and there is evidence that young people are discriminated against in a variety of ways. However, in this study the issues raised by employers overwhelmingly focused on older workers.
The study was conducted during an extended period of economic growth and many respondents reported difficulties in finding suitably skilled people. It is likely that different results would have been found during a recession or a major downturn in a particular industry or region.