Piffle, padding? Too right!
08/08/2008
Doris Daly's article (see link below) on 'Piffle, padding & procrastination' echoed exactly my own thoughts on the forests of expensive, highly coloured books and pamphlets full of ideas and theories about matters relating to older people; all too few of which get read by those for whom they are intended. Then of course, there are the well intentioned conferences and seminars where all those publications are brandished.
More Stories
Choose to retire? We don't have a choice
Many people have no choice about retiring or not; particularly with the national default retirement age that gives employers, not employees the choice of when to retire. The second misconception is that there is a ‘normal retirement age’. There is no ‘normal’ retirement age. The third is that older people work to earn ‘some extra money’. Many older people must work to earn a living and pay the rising cost of living.
Why older workers are now in demand
UK entrepreneurs are increasingly relying on older workers to plug skills shortages in their businesses. It seems that nearly half (45%) of UK owner-managers are concerned about skills shortages and many claim that younger recruits are often just not up to the job.
Ageism on the road
Cheers for Walter J.Bourne, (Letters MT) re car insurance companies. I have myself just received a rip off 35% increase in my SAGA Insurance premium But here is a different silver rip-off.
Ageism in the NHS: I'm too young to get a new knee
I'm 61 and crippled with arthritis - but I've been told I am too young to receive a new knee. I appreciate that new knees have a limited life but is not my quality of life more important than my age?
Are older TV presenters over the hill?
The phasing out of such television greats as Anna Ford and Moira Stuart is a real loss for British broadcasting and serves as a stark reminder about workplace attitudes towards older workers.
Help stop discrimination against volunteers
It is now illegal to age discriminate against a person if they get paid - but perfectly legal if they are a volunteer. The Government has repeatedly stated that volunteers are the backbone of the country and how much they are appreciated - but then excludes them from the Age Discrimination Act.
Ageism legislation scuppers Adult Learners' fees
Earlier this year, Mature Times reader David Newman placed a petition on the Number 10 website, asking the Prime Minister to stop local councils from using ageism legislation to justify ending the reduction in fees for pensioners who attend adult learning classes. The Government decribes their actions as "unfortunate".
The reluctant retiree
NHS employee Ms. Millward questions the fairness of compulsory retirement at the age of 65.
Not in gainful employment? Actually I'm a citizen volunteer, Mr Brown.
How many of you are "unpaid volunteers" whom the government has written off as useless?
Why do car hire companies penalise older drivers?
As a matter of public policy, surely there is much to be said for people hiring a car rather than purchasing one? For us consumers, it means use of a vehicle tailored to our immediate needs; for society as a whole, it reduces our so-called carbon footprint. This is especially true for us pensioners. Yet one car hire company upped its daily charge to me by 66% on learning I was 72.
Too late to become a refugee
I was told that I did not qualify for the jobseekers allowance - although I am actively seeking work. I was basically told to use all my savings to get below the threshhold level, or - get this, from a Government employee - "hide your savings somewhere, then claim for everything you can get!"
Drive this discrimination off the road
When we returned to the UK we found it impossible to hire a car - with the exception of one car hire company to which we had to travel by bus because insurance companies put a block on car hire for anyone over the age the seventy.
Got a pension? Why do you want a job?
I was made redundant in 2006 having never claimed any benefits and having always worked (44 years) for a living. So I went along to my local job centre, where I had 3 interviews. I was finally told not to bother signing on as I had a company pension.
Pass the baton
Your reader 79 year old Bernard Hastings says that his prolonged employment is filling a skills shortage. This attitude bothers me. Instead of just sitting tight, why doesn't Bernard (and other older people like him) pass skills and knowledge onto younger people, so that both they and the country can benefit from them for years to come?
If you cling onto a baton your team will lose the race! Also, youngsters will never be given a chance of proving themselves. We've had our turn already, so they deserve theirs. The Age Discrimination Act wasn't just set up for our benefit. Youngsters are discriminated against too.
