Become an Age Friendly Employer
A third of the workforce in England are aged 50 or over, nearly 9 million workers. But not all employers are offering what’s needed to retain older workers, or recognising the importance of recruiting them.
Norwich wastes a huge amount of talent, skills and experience by denying older workers the chance to stay in jobs or find new ones. There has been an increase in the number of people over 50 withdrawing from the workforce, citing various reasons such as health constraints, caregiving responsibilities and a lack of suitable employment, thereby becoming economically inactive.
For Age UK Norwich, being an Age-friendly Employer is not only in the interests of employees but also good for the organisation and the people who use our services. We offer a workplace that people want to choose. A place of diverse age groups. We believe that what is good for older workers is also good for younger workers and vice versa. We offer great flexibility and guarantee this to all our employees, regardless of their tenure, seniority or role.
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Benefits for Customers Residents and Visitors
Age-friendly employment benefits all of us. We all want to know that we will not be marginalised as we age.
- Age-positive recruitment means you draw on a wider pool of applicants for each job.Showcase your commitment to tackling ageism
- Research shows multigenerational workforces drive innovation and productivity.
- Older workers can continue to thrive and contribute in your organisation.
- Connect with your customers/clients/visitors more
- Reach new audiences for your services and merchandise
- Join the global network and showcase your investment in later life
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Benefits for businesses and services
When you submit your application, you are signing the Age-friendly Employer Pledge and are joining a network of like-minded employers who have committed to taking continued action become more age-friendly.
- A communications pack to help you spread the message including a logo that you can use on your website to publicise your commitment
- Regular newsletters with tips, guidance, and inspiration
- Invitations to peer calls and webinars, to learn from employers like you and help you move forward on your age - friendly journey
- Invites to local Norwich networking events and activities with other local Age Friendly Employers
- A follow-up call from Centre of Ageing Better at 6 and 12 months to check in on the progress on the actions
- Access to the LinkedIn pledge members group to share information and resources
Sign the pledge with the Centre for Better Ageing
Sign the pledge then register you have been awarded age friendly employer status with us.
Case Studies
Greater Manchester employability support project - In 2020 Ageing Better commissioned Humanly to conduct and 18 month long co-design and prototyping project across 3 Local Authorities in Greater Manchester. Working closely with the Department for Work and Pensions, local stakeholders, residents with lived experience of being out of work, service providers and community groups, we gained great insights into what people want from employment and skill support, and what challenges people are facing.
Helpful Toolkits
Support your employees and your clients with these helpful toolkits
Eliminate age bias in recruitment.
Many older workers feel they are at a disadvantage in applying for jobs because of their age. We want to eliminate bias in recruitment processes so that more people aged 50 and over can remain in work and employers can benefit from their skills and experience.
Good recruitment for older workers guide These tools were designed and tested by a working group of HR and ED&I (Equality, Diversity & Inclusion) professionals.
The three new tools that the working group agreed would have the best feasibility and impact for reducing age bias in the recruitment process are:
- Creating a more inclusive job advert– this helps address a number of issues that an older applicant may face, such as removing stereotypical language, assessing flexible working options, and greater clarity on the recruitment process.
- Creating an interview invitation and scheduling form– this helps provide all the relevant information in a straightforward way, as many older applicants may not had had recent experience with recruitment. This form also provides a simple way for the applicant to raise any reasonable adjustments they require for the interview.
- How to talk about flexible working with candidates during recruitment– this guidance will help hiring managers and their HR colleagues in planning ahead. As flexible working is a significant driver for older applicants in considering jobs, this guidance can provide your organisation with ways to adapt and improve processes.
Flexible working
toolkit Developed in partnership with Timewise and based on extensive research and employer pilots, this toolkit sets out to maximise the benefits of flexible working for both businesses and individuals.
