BT
Retirement: greater flexibility
BT has taken a proactive approach to employing older workers, pre-empting age legislation. As such age is built into BT's diversity policy and is vital to its strategy of creating a customer focussed business. BT started to address age issues a few years ago predominately because of concern at the decline in numbers of workers aged 53 and over.
BT was keen to extend its existing flexible working arrangements to offer employees more flexibility and choice as they prepare for retirement. They recognised that the business could no longer sustain the culture of early retirement that had developed within the organisation (average age of retirement in BT was 52) and decided to look at creative options that would create a culture that supports the concept of a decade of retirement. BT's flexible retirement strategy was launched in February 2001 as an integral part of NewStart - its holistic policy on flexible working and mutually agreed career and life plans. BT's unions were actively involved at every level of the development process.
Five flexible retirement working options are available:
Concerns that the flexible retirement policy would raise unrealistic expectations from employees have been unfounded. 70% of BT's workforce already work flexibly and managing flexibility in retirement is not seen as any more problematic.
Although BT has maintained a fixed retirement age of 60, there are opportunities for employees to stay on beyond NRA and the company aims to remove a fixed retirement age altogether.
All policies will be reviewed to ensure they comply with age laws in 2006.
Click icon to download a printable version of the case study
download pdf
Retirement: greater flexibility
BT has taken a proactive approach to employing older workers, pre-empting age legislation. As such age is built into BT's diversity policy and is vital to its strategy of creating a customer focussed business. BT started to address age issues a few years ago predominately because of concern at the decline in numbers of workers aged 53 and over.
BT was keen to extend its existing flexible working arrangements to offer employees more flexibility and choice as they prepare for retirement. They recognised that the business could no longer sustain the culture of early retirement that had developed within the organisation (average age of retirement in BT was 52) and decided to look at creative options that would create a culture that supports the concept of a decade of retirement. BT's flexible retirement strategy was launched in February 2001 as an integral part of NewStart - its holistic policy on flexible working and mutually agreed career and life plans. BT's unions were actively involved at every level of the development process.
Five flexible retirement working options are available:
- Wind Down, which offers employees an opportunity to go part-time or job share;
- Step Down, which enables employees to reduce their work commitments by taking a position with a lower level of responsibility;
- Time Out, which allows employees to take full or part-time sabbaticals (encouraging individuals take up opportunities for further education, travel etc.)
- Helping Hands, which encourages employees to take up volunteering or community work.
- Ease Down, which allows employees to gradually reduce working hours and/or responsibilities, particularly in the last 12 months prior to leaving BT.
Concerns that the flexible retirement policy would raise unrealistic expectations from employees have been unfounded. 70% of BT's workforce already work flexibly and managing flexibility in retirement is not seen as any more problematic.
Although BT has maintained a fixed retirement age of 60, there are opportunities for employees to stay on beyond NRA and the company aims to remove a fixed retirement age altogether.
All policies will be reviewed to ensure they comply with age laws in 2006.
Click icon to download a printable version of the case study
download pdf
