Older workers face ‘increased risk of redundancy’

Older workers are facing an increased risk of redundancy as employers look to reduce staffing levels during the current downturn, the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD) has claimed.

In a recent CIPD survey of 721 organisations, one in five employers said they would take advantage of the rules which allow them to make workers aged over 65 redundant, without having to provide a business reason.

A quarter of those surveyed said they had prepared fresh plans for redundancies as a result of the credit crisis, with most job cuts expected by the end of January.

‘The onset of recession is already putting jobs at risk but many more are in the firing line as employers consider their next move in a fast deteriorating situation,’ said CIPD chief economist, John Philpott.

However, he argued that a further cut in interest rates by the Bank of England would help to ‘prevent a nightmare scenario for jobs’.