The working longer group
The Working Longer Group (WLG) was established in 2014 to review the implications of the NHS workforce working to a later, raised retirement age. It was a partnership group of national recognised NHS trade unions, NHS employers and health department representatives. The Working Longer steering group reported directly to the NHS Staff Council and its executive.
This page is an archive to the work of the Working Longer Group and a base to house the resources produced, which can still be of use to NHS organisations looking to support their older workers.
This video with Rachael Charlton, director of HR and organisational development at East Cheshire NHS Trust and Nicola Lee, employment relations adviser at the time, at the Royal College of Nursing, who were both members of the WLG, shows the challenges and opportunities associated with an ageing NHS workforce.
The group submitted its preliminary findings and recommendations report to the health departments for consideration on 3 March 2014, on behalf of the NHS Staff Council.
Key resources produced
- Age profiling tool (excel doc) - profile your workforce by age, helping you predict trends and identify areas where there may be a higher likelihood of retirement requests in the future. You can also use our age and working hours analysis tool (.xls) to show you the distribution of full and part time work across your workforce.
- Checklist to assess organisational readiness including action planning – designed to help you assess how age aware your organisation currently is and to help you action plan for the future.
- Senior management team presentation slide pack – The template slides contain national information relating to workforce demographics, pension scheme changes at the time and information about the Working Longer Group. This resource can be tailored to add in details of your workforce demographics and local information about strategies to support your staff to work to a later, raised retirement age.
- Engagement approaches – includes learning from NHS organisations, and a range of suggested approaches for you to consider when planning your own engagement with employees, senior management and trade union colleagues. There is also a checklist for planning an engagement event.
