Managing the Transition to Retirement: Flexible work arrangements and other critical issues for retiring employees

Canada’s aging workforce presents employers and unions with the opportunity to harness the skills and experience of mature workers, but also raises thorny challenges. Is it discriminatory to limit flexible work arrangements to older workers, without offering the same opportunities to younger workers? Can benefit plans make distinctions based on age? In this audio session, Lancaster’s panel of experts will outline strategies for keeping mature workers engaged in their jobs and effectively managing their transition to retirement, while complying with human rights and other legal obligations. Topics to be addressed include:

• Developing engagement strategies: What are some examples of innovative engagement strategies for older workers? Are mentoring programs, that pair older and younger workers together, helpful in keeping older workers engaged? If so, what kinds of peer programs best facilitate mentorship and knowledge transfer? Should older workers be specifically targeted for training on new technologies? Is it important to keep retired employees connected with the company? If so, what are some effective strategies – establishing a retiree association? Creating a newsletter?
• Exploring phased-in retirement options: What types of alternative work arrangements should be offered to employees nearing retirement – flexible hours? Telecommuting? Shortened and/or compressed work week options? Job sharing? At what age or career stage should such phased-in options be offered to workers? Is it discriminatory to limit flexible work arrangements to older workers, without offering the same opportunities to younger workers?
• Offering retiree resource pools: Are retiree resource pools always a win-win for employers and employees? If not, what are the pitfalls? Must retiree resource pools be negotiated in a collective agreement in order to be offered to retiring employees?
• Dealing with performance issues: How should an employer deal with significantly reduced performance due to disability that is related to age, such as early stages of dementia, hearing loss, or mobility issues? How should an employer approach employees whose performance may be negatively affected due to age? Are employers legally required to modify duties or lower work performance standards to accommodate older workers?
• Assessing differential treatment in benefit plans: If older workers are allowed to reduce their work week as part of pre-retirement transition, must the employer maintain regular health benefits and pension contributions? Can benefit plans make distinctions based on age? What measures can be implemented to contain the costs associated with a retirement or other benefit program? What exceptions are there to the abolition of mandatory retirement by virtue of pension plans? Are two-tier systems of terms and conditions of employment (including pension plans), with inferior wages and benefits going to entry-level workers, permissible?