Mark Saunders, presentation on issues such as age discrimination and ways in which older people can enhance their chances of getting back into work.
Minutes:
Mike Saunders, from Wrinklies direct, talked about getting back into work at a mature age. He explained that legislation existed relating to age discrimination and there were things employers could not do.
He encouraged people seeking employment opportunities to think about how they presented their skills and if the role they were applying for matched those skills. He also stated that sometimes mature candidates could suffer from expectations from employers that they can ‘hit the ground running’ without adequate support and training.
In response to questions from the floor Mike explained that legislation did not make it easier for employers to sack employees without tribunals and that employers need to have clear procedures for changing people’s roles. For example employees should have a clear expectation of what their role is and how they will be measured against those objectives.
Residents asked about training opportunities particularly in terms of IT skills. A representative from Age Concerns stated that this kind of thing was on offer from Southwark Pensioners or local libraries.