Andrew Kinder, Chartered Psychologist and member of the Executive Committee for the British Association for Counselling & Psychotherapy’s Workplace offers advice on handling difficult conversations around retirement.

The John McCririck case has brought to light the issues that both employers and employees face within this new landscape and it has been interesting to see how widely this case has been reported.  

I remember being a manager before the age limit started to be phased out in 2011. At this time, workers generally knew when they would retire and had adjusted to this fact, often at an earlier stage in their career. Yes, it was difficult for some when they reached ‘retirement age’ and I remember attending various ‘leaving dos’ where the retiree would express some regret about leaving and wishing they could stay. This was often said with a wry smile, which left me wondering whether they were in fact pleased to go, perhaps it indicated a mixture of feelings and their real sentiment most probably reflected the domestic situation they were facing. No doubt, there were some who wished they could have stayed with the prospect of another 15 or so years at work whereas others saw it as part of the natural rhythm of life, one which needed some adjustment but was something they had aimed for all their working life. 

After 2011 everything changed.  Legally the Employment Equality (Repeal of Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations phased out the default retirement age and meant that age, by itself, was not a reason for ending someone’s employment. This reflected the earlier legislation where age was a ‘protected characteristic’ under the Equality Act 2010.  For the employer this was a fundamental change as it meant there were more older workers who perhaps had different needs to their younger colleagues. It also meant that certain behaviour that could be seen as discrimination based on age, had to be guarded against. From the workers point of view, this gave them choice about when they would leave, assuming their health was not affecting their competence to perform at work, and I will return to this point later in the article when I explore retirement from the individual’s point of view.

Returning to the John McCririck case, Mr McCririck is a well-known TV personality and believes that Channel 4 has discriminated against him on the basis of age – he is 72.  At the time of writing the outcome is not known. We are all probably aware of what is termed as the ‘demographic timebomb’ where there will be increasing numbers of older people in the population and perhaps this case brings to the fore questions for the individual such as:

How do you know when to stop working? Is it 65? 75? 80? 90? How do you stop working ‘gracefully’? From an employer’s point of view, the case highlights some of the inherent dilemmas with age discrimination issues and this article will seek to provide some practical guidance to address these points. Emotions undoubtedly run high when older workers, who are no longer able to perform to the standards required of them, are asked to step down or the subject of retirement is raised. There are significant questions about how employers can and should deliver difficult news to such individuals but articles on the subject can often focus on the legal aspects without fully considering the emotional aspects both for the employee and those delivering the ‘bad news’. Challenging underperformance applies to all age groups but the older worker may react more strongly which could be due to a number of reasons, such as: They may have dedicated their entire lives to their jobs/careers which means they identify particularly strongly with it, this seems to be a particular issue with men, especially when they pride themselves on being the ‘breadwinner’ and have few friends outside work; they may fear that they will not able to support themselves/their families in retirement (for instance, there could be little prospect, unlike with other age groups, that they will get another job). Older members of staff could be more highly respected within their organizations due to their experience and how their retirement is handled can impact the perception others have within the company (for instance, if the organisation has a track record for handling conversations around retirement professionally and sensitively, other members of staff may find it easier to comprehend why they are being asked to leave, and vitally, that it is not for malicious reasons). The person conducting the conversation is likely to be a younger, more junior member of staff and this could create tension, the older person may consciously or unconsciously undermine or intimidate the younger person.

The first point to make is that the principles regarding tackling underperforming members of staff is the same no matter what age the employee. For instance, best practice suggests that: The employer should have in place regular meetings around performance with the employee related to the running of the business and the subject of any competence issues should naturally arise out of this process. Attention should be given to ensure that the spoken language, body language and the set-up of the room should not be intimidating, ideally relaxed yet formal and private, away from the viewpoints of other workers. Care should be taken to clearly explain how decisions have been reached (both verbally and in writing) and the meeting should not be rushed or hastily arranged. If the employee is being informed that they are being ‘let go’, the person conducting the interview should have training in handling strong emotions and should know clearly what support mechanisms are available for the employee (e.g. counselling, outplacement, Employee Assistance Programme).

The employee should be told about the next steps in the process with clear timescales

Any further ‘duty of care’ elements should be considered, such as whether the individual is fit to drive home or how the news is (or is not) best communicated to others and what follow-on support needs are identified/provided. The organisation also needs to consider the support needs of the interviewer(s) so that they can be ‘debriefed’, such as listening to the impact on them (e.g. feelings of guilt, upset, low confidence). However, giving ‘bad news’ to an older worker can create extra difficulties, especially, as mentioned before, regarding the emotional aspects. Therefore, in the contacts with an older worker who is being told they are leaving the organisation and in any subsequent meetings/contacts, here is some guidance: It could be tempting to offer ‘advice’ or helpful hints to the older worker, such as how they can fill their time during retirement. This could back-fire as the individual may not want to consider alternative activities from paid employment. Following the individual’s lead here is probably safer, so that if they volunteer that they are looking forward to picking up voluntary work or seeing the family more, this could be built upon.

Saying that you ‘understand’ what they are going through can also be unwelcome as how can you really understand? Acknowledging their fears and concerns is more helpful.

Be aware of your tone of voice as this can easily be misconstrued as uncaring or patronizing, listen to yourself and check whether you are becoming dismissive or overly caring. Check your own attitudes about age, such as whether you are negative about older people or have excessive feelings of guilt (‘I am personally responsible for all their concerns about leaving the organisation’), give yourself recovery team especially after highly emotional contacts with them. Build in sufficient time to go through this process and prepare yourself so you know the practical help that the organisation can offer (e.g. counselling, outplacement, Employee Assistance) or if this is limited, identify some helpful organisations in the community. It is worth remembering that from a personal perspective each of us is getting older and we will all need to make a decision to retire or at least phase our work activities down as our health declines. Just as we would want to be treated with dignity and respect by our own employer at this time, so we need to apply this to older workers who are exiting from our own organisations. It is often a difficult decision for all parties so giving it sufficient care and attention and being prepared about the likely impacts are key elements to making the transition as smooth as possible.

Five reminders: Eliminate the element of surprise; make the setting relaxed and comfortable. Keep your message clear and simple; expect the unexpected, and prepare for it and set out clear next steps including support from; counselling, outplacement, Employee Assistance or local community support. Should a departing employee find it harder than expected to come to terms with their retirement or indeed should this impact negatively on other employees, contacting a workplace councillor for further advice can go a long way to help ease this sometimes difficult transition.