On 19 October 2016, Luxembourg’s Minister for Employment, Nicolas Schmit, presented the national decisions regarding health and safety for all ages in the workplace, in a conference held in Mondorf-les-Bains.

As part of the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU-OSHA) campaign, of which the theme for 2016-2017 is “Being well at work regardless of age”, the Ministry for Employment has taken new decisions regarding the subject of healthy workplaces for all ages. They encompass the desire to promote a sustainable work life, especially considering the changing demographic which shows young people beginning to work later and people retiring later.

In EU-OSHA’s report “Safer and healthier work at any age- Country inventory: Luxembourg”, which was published this year, the association compares the profiles of different European countries. It found that 11% of the Luxembourgish population is between 55 and 64 years old. Meanwhile, the employment rate in this age range is only 40% despite the official retirement age being 65 years old. 25% of those over 50 years of age have already retired, sometimes in the form of early retirement, often for health reasons. In 2012, the average retirement age in Luxembourg was 59.6 years old for women and 57.6 years old for men, which is earlier than in other European countries. 

If businesses do not change their practices regarding employing and retaining older employees, they risk being confronted with some serious issues. One such problem is the loss of expertise, knowledge and skills for the business.

In fact, the new policies do not only concern senior citizens, but also those whose illnesses or disabilities have disrupted their careers. Thus, the management of knowledge and skills is an important element in business management, for instance the sharing of knowledge between older and younger employees.

Finally, job flexibility, allowing senior citizens to work part-time or adopt a gradual retirement, is beneficial to both the employees and the business.