Brown backs down, Turner pension recommendations...

Hrm, work until you're 95 and we'll give you a free lolly-pop, gotta grinding on, if only to pay for those unfunded pensions for all those 'decrepit' 55 year olds that *need* to retire.

The difficulty with all of this is that Government or rather the Civil Service is a major culprit when it comes to age discrimination. At 59 I am skilled enought to carry out contract work for the DCSA but apparently not to be given a permanent job - except at a very low paid D grade.

This is rife throughout industry and whilst laws are to be in place in October to outlaw age discrimination it will take a major culture shift for employers to start taking on the over 60s.

"nagsman" wrote

You can't outlaw age discrimination at the interview stage. Just like sex discrimination, discrimination (entirely reasonable in a small company) against a female candidate with "obvious" intentions to start a family ASAP, etc.

All you can do is bring in laws which make the company pay out if they sack somebody and can't dig up a good enough reason.

All this palys into the hands of firms that contract out everything, buying in from China etc etc.

In a well organised company, if you are 59 and switched on, you will get a job. The trouble is that there are a lot of people who at 59 have already decided to "slow down" and they are quite honestly no good.

Oh well, they'll just have to go home and make do with their superannuated gold plated final salary scheme, such is the sacrifice :)