Can employers focus on the safety of older workers?

To mark 'International Day for Older Persons', the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work today published online advice for employers on safety and the ageing population, including details of risks it claimed were "associated with older workers".

Interestingly, the information coincided with the first anniversary of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations - based on an EU directive - which outlawed discrimination in employment based upon age.

This begs the question - how can employers address safety issues based around "age" on one hand, while complying with discrimination law on the other?

What is older?

Firstly, the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work was quick to point out that "chronological age" was "not an indicator of mental of physiological ageing". This means that with safety assessments, for example, employers should focus on workers' capability and experience, rather than their actual age.

At the same time, the Agency said research had shown that workers aged 55 and above tended to suffer the most serious accidents, with a fatality rate above the European average. The 55-plus age group also suffered the greatest incidence of "long development-time occupational illnesses", such as cancers and cardiovascular diseases.

It went on to say that while studies had indicated that older workers had fewer accidents overall, their injuries were "often more severe and could take longer to heal."

In addition, types of injury suffered tended to be different among various age groups, with younger workers getting more eye or hand injuries and older workers reporting more back and musculoskeletal disorders.

Objective justification?

The thing to remember here is that age discrimination legislation allows employers to discriminate where there is "objective justification" - in other words, when there is some evidence to support such action.

Research, such as that highlighted by the European Agency, would almost certainly count as objective justification under the age regulations.

But health and safety managers must still be careful about how they act. For example, it might be considered reasonable to emphasise tackling musculoskeletal disorders in an organisation where more older workers are employed. After all, the research shows they are generally more at risk.

However, any attempt to exclude workers under a certain age from manual handling training on this basis, would almost certainly fall foul of the law.

All risk factors need to be assessed, and age - or should we say experience and capability - is only ever part of the overall picture.