Age UK Bristol: Helping Workers Plan for the Future

* Part of a series of 3 virtual workshops with Age UK Bristol and the Good Employment Charter *

Demographic ageing means longer working lives. Unfortunately, the proportion of people retiring earlier than they want or can afford to shows that employer support for older people is lacking. Putting practices in place to support your staff’s health and wellbeing as they age, and to help them consider their career development, support needs, and retirement plans, is a win-win: employers can reduce skills shortages and staff turnover, and workers can enjoy more fulfilling roles that suit their abilities and interests until their chosen retirement date.

You will learn:

• Why mid-life support is important

• How to facilitate career progression and development for older staff

• Key reasons for early retirement or resignation in mid-life, and how to avoid them

• What kinds of support employers can offer

• How pre-retirement support can help employers and employees

• An overview of mid-life MOT/review models

• When and how to offer these – and the pros and cons of each

Following the workshop, you’ll be able to:

• Improve retention of older staff and ensure more effective roles within your organisation

• Consult with staff on the health and wellbeing support that would make their work lives more fulfilling and sustainable

• Develop a mid-life review offer – from additions to annual appraisals to tailored courses or group sessions

• Review your flexible working offer and reasonable adjustments

• Enable your employees to be better informed on their pensions, their career options before retirement, and tools to improve health and wellbeing at work

Bianca Rossetti has worked for Age UK Bristol since 2015, initially on the programme management team for Bristol Ageing Better; a seven-year programme which worked with a partnership of individuals and organisations to reduce isolation and loneliness among older people. Over the years BAB has built up a vast library of learning, evaluation and evidence regarding people aged 50+ in Bristol. One aspect of the BAB programme was the creation of Age-Friendly Bristol; a strategic project which secured Bristol’s recognition by the WHO as an age-friendly city in 2018. As well as continuing to gather evidence and adapt cross-sector work to reflect the changing needs of older people locally, Bianca has also produced resources for businesses and local residents to help remove barriers to services, employment, community involvement and public spaces, such as the toolkits Make Your Business Age-Friendly and Make Your Neighbourhood Age-Friendly. In 2022, Bianca will be working across the West of England to promote age-friendliness in work, transport and communication.

David Jepson has worked in economic development and labour market consultancy for more than 30 years both in the UK and internationally. He was also previously an elected member of Birmingham City Council prior to moving to Bristol 15 years ago. David has worked on aspects of the impact of the ageing population on economic development over a ten-year period. He was a member of the European Innovation Partnership on Active and Healthy Ageing, implemented a project around older people and entrepreneurship via Bristol Ageing Better and has delivered presentations about ageing through the European Association for Development Agencies. He has also focused on the role of refugees and migrants in the labour market. David has been involved in the Inclusive Cities network and the ESRC funded Everyday Integration project led by the University of Bristol

About the Good Employment Charter:

The West of England Combined Authority has launched the Good Employment Charter, a voluntary accreditation scheme that aims to improve employment standards in the West of England for organisations of all sizes and sectors, through characteristics that will raise the value and quality of work. The Charter supports organisations to become ‘employers of choice’, so they can achieve better productivity and growth, staff retention and recruit top talent.