86 year old Secretary sacked

[furryjammies]

There is an article in the DF today about a now 88 year old woman who sacked from her NHS Secretary job for I think fairly spurious reasons at the age of 86. She has won her case for unfair dismissal. Do you think there should be a cut off point for retirement or should you be able to work as long as you want? She wanted to work until 90.

Age should be completely irrelevant. Performance issues happen regardless of age, but trying to sack someone just because they are older is appalling. If they are choosing not to use systems they’ve been trained to use then that’s a performance issue. My 50yr old colleague will insist on going to see maintenance to report a fault (30 minutes there and back provided he doesn’t get chatting), or phoning if the weather is bad (10 minutes because he does like a chat) instead of using the online form (1 minute). My 76 year old dad retired about 5 years ago after the company he worked for closed but he’s fitter, smarter, and has more energy than me (and is an Excel wizard). He’s been a DIY fiend ever since and has my mother demented by repainting everything, fitting a new kitchen himself and taking her on 100 mile round trips to far flung places for lunch.

@newnameforthis7 I'm 64 and still have my NATURAL dark hair - with a sprinkling of grey.

"after she spent an hr editing a read only document."

Why does the software allow you to do this - couldn't it force you to save the document as editable before making changes? Simple yet effective!

(Misses point of thread.)

Someone had better tell David Attenborough and June Brown!
Economically speaking people working have a much better healthy life expectation and require for less care. They do not suffer from the awful affects of social isolation.

People who retire early and live active retirements live longest.
A lot of charitable services rely on older retired people volunteering. And a lot of parents rely on retired grandparents for childcare help.
There will be consequences as a result of people working longer.
I think it would be better for society to have a semi paid/volunteer scheme for older people when they get to state pension age that meant they stayed active and did duties that helped those in need.
Hospitals for example rely on wrvs, these are nearly all retired women.

an 86 y/o would be unlikely to be a wizz on Excel, or other technology. She was probably sacked because she was bloody hopeless.
My late father was doing all this, online shopping, banking etc. into his 90s. He had always kept up with the tech of the time starting with being a wireless operator in the War. The people that can't cope with IT at whatever age are those that just don't want to engage with it.

When I'm elderly I won't need to eat much or go many places
When does one become elderly in your eyes? I am 64 and still eating and travelling. I intend to continue to do both for some time.

I retired at 60 with my teachers' pension btw, I'm lucky enough to have paid my mortgage and my husband is still working. I had no intention of working into my 80s at such a physical job (not the most physical obviously but Early Years is physical compared to being a secretary) but good luck to those who are willing and able.

Economically speaking people working have a much better healthy life expectation and require for less care. They do not suffer from the awful affects of social isolation.

You do not have to be socially isolated just because you are not in a paid job. Plenty of volunteering opportunities out there, clubs, societies etc to join, classes to do.

I know plenty of retired people leading busy lives caring for grandchildren, volunteering and caring for elderly relatives.
Until about 10 years ago I knew a lot of retired people doing informal caring for elderly neighbours, friends or relatives. That seems to have declined a lot. This is going to lead to a greater crisis in social care.
Of course if you retire and then spend every day sitting at home watching tv, that is not going to be healthy for you.

The first version of Excel was released for the Mac in 1985

The people who wrote it are now about to push into early 60s (and older). ... I do this a lot with DC, actually. They moan about how I don't know something & I point out my mother was doing that task on a computer in 1980.

So you think an 86 year old should be caring for elderly neighbours? rather than earning money out at work

I can't retire till 67. I will at that point have been working full time for 51 years.
What many young people don't get is that you do get tired err more easily as you get older. I still play sport but if I have to do a long working day, rather than a standard one, I struggle much more than when I was younger. And I am less effective.

@glamorousgrandmother I am 64, with no private pension and work part time in a physical job. My retirement date is late next year and I can't wait! hoping my work is keeping me fit so I can enjoy my retirement in good health. I don't care about being poor, as long as I have a warm home and food, and am looking forward to travelling free or at reduced rates. I'm a simple soul with simple needs, fortunately!

Horace I am saying that used to be common. There is no should about it. Simply that this will have unintended consequences.

In France they had to introduce a compulsory retirement age (which was quite low) in order to tackle their incredibly high youth unemployment.

It’s not fair to be a desk-hogger. Step aside and let someone else have a go.

No one is going to step aside if that means they do not have the money to live on. I will retire at 67. Although if I can continue work8ng a few days a week for some extra money,I probably will. Not because I am a desk hover, but because money means you can do things,

Where I'm from after the age of 68 your pension stops accumulating. The purpose is to encourage retiring finally at that point. After 68 years old a person can continue to work but it has to be agreed with employer. If you have your own company then you can work as long as possible.

When I'm elderly I won't need to eat much or go many places

Ha, blimey.

My 81 year-old friend still works 15 hours a week - the rest of the time she's out for pub lunches with friends, at the theatre, weekend breaks etc. as well as doing some local community voluntary stuff. She has no mortgage but other than that her outgoings are the same as any other single adult and she needs that income from her job to maintain her lifestyle.

@AlexaAmbidextra law is super competitive. I suspect the reason your law grad friends couldn't get jobs was that they weren't good enough. Nothing to do with ancient solicitors everywhere. Law isn't suits and clients pay for experience. FYI there are literally 1000's of law grad training contracts available yearly and the business model is up or out - a pyramid.

QueenoftheCroneAge I realise I am lucky to have had the option to leave with my pension instead of waiting to be bullied out like several of my colleagues when the school became an academy. I don't think I'd have been up to getting down on my knees on the carpet with the children into my 80s - at least I could have got down but not back up again maybe. I had already given up sitting cross legged some time before. For those that can do it - keep going as long as you want and are able!

I haven't succumbed to daytime TV btw, I invigilate exams when required and have a volunteer job on a farm.

Age shouldn't matter, but ability to do the job should.

I've received letters with the wrong drug dosages on it because the secretary misheard apparently. That's dangerous and if mistakes like that are being made I can understand someone being dismissed.

If she was doing her job competently then it's wrong to dismiss on age alone.

I assume the person who said retired people don't need to eat much or travel is very young and has very limited life experience and/or imagination. My parents are in their 80s and doing very well for their age. They are probably spending more on food now than they used to because they eat out more and make more use of convenience foods than they did when they were younger. This is because my mum, who does the cooking, finds it a lot more tiring now and her arthritic hands are not so good with chopping.

I remember when I first heard that supermarkets were stocking ready-chopped vegetables I was astonished that anyone would pay to save the few minutes involved in chopping a carrot, but someone pointed out that this kind of thing was a godsend for many disabled and elderly people, and I've tried to remember that since. You do pay for the convenience, though.

In France they had to introduce a compulsory retirement age (which was quite low) in order to tackle their incredibly high youth unemployment

You can't force someone to retire without their consent until they are 70.

And people can work beyond 70!!

@Graphista excellent post.