Last month, we saw the joyful and inspiring news story of Manette Bailley, the 102-year-old woman who performed a sky dive for charity. Two years earlier she drove around Silverstone racetrack at 130mph in a Ferrari on her 100th birthday!
It is a striking reminder that age need be no barrier to many things, which brings us nicely to considering the health and safety of older workers in the workplace.
With the pension age going up and life expectancy at about 80 for men and women, the prospects of retiring at 65, 60 or even earlier have diminished for many.
What does the law say about health and safety for older workers?
There is no specific law that says older workers should be treated differently for health and safety purposes.
However, The Health and Safety at Work Act 1974 does mandate that, as far as reasonably practicable, you must ensure the health and safety of all your workers.
Furthermore, The Management of Health and Safety at Work Regulations 1999 (MHSWR) requires that you assess the workplace risks to the health and safety of your workers and, key for this topic, that you identify groups of workers who may be particularly at risk. This could include older workers, among other groups.
Steps you can take to manage the health and safety of older workers
It is good practice to consult with all staff to manage health and safety in a way that works for your business and your team.
In the natural process of doing this, you may identify specific steps you need to take – but based on material facts or changes, rather than being triggered by a certain age.
It will be entirely determined by the circumstances, but it could include steps like:
- Redesigning manual handling roles to eliminate or reduce risk.
- Including opportunity for older workers to opt for other types of work, say in annual appraisals.
- Ensuring health and safety is well-monitored so you can make objective decisions based on facts, should you see declining trends.
Always consider how you can harness the experience of older workers to share knowledge and good practice with your wider workforce.
Do I need to consider equality law?
Equality law is a consideration when managing the health and safety of older workers. This is why you shouldn’t make assumptions or base decisions solely on arbitrary factors like a specific age.
This goes both ways. Age is no excuse for an older worker having any less responsibility for health and safety as any other worker.
With all of this in mind, it is possible to discriminate on health and safety grounds because of age, as long as you have a good reason for a policy.
Help from The Health and Safety Dept
As wonderful as it is to see a centenarian skydiving or speeding around Silverstone, health and safety for older workers can present serious challenges for SME businesses, both in achieving the right outcomes and in how those outcomes are achieved. If you would like professional support to ensure you get it right, please do not hesitate to contact us at The Health and Safety Dept.