They witness
- Amelie Favre Guittetindependent consultant and multi-talented within the Talent Management Group which she co-created, campaigns for the professional integration of people aged 45 and over
- Benoit Serredeputy vice-president of ANDRH
- Pierre GuilletPresident of Christian Entrepreneurs and Leaders
- Serge Guerinsociologist specializing in the challenges of aging, professor at Inseec
- Caroline YoungPresident of Expertconnect, a community of retired industry experts
The observation: seniors excluded from the labor market
With the new pension reform project pushing back the legal retirement age to 64 or 65, seniors may have to work longer. Except that the employment rate of seniors in France is bad:
- For those over 55, it is barely above 50% compared to 74% in Germany.
- And for 55-64 year olds, it peaks at 56% compared to 62% in the rest of Europe.
“Revolting” according to the Minister of the Economy. So the government regularly launches trial balloons to test solutions and stop this infernal spiral: setting up quotas for seniors, a seniors index (as there is a professional equality index between women and men), etc. .
At 55, you still have a quarter of your active life ahead of you!
The observation: seniors are widely discriminated against in access to employment in France
73% of candidates and 63% of recruiters agree that there are barriers to selecting seniors as part of a recruitment process.
In a study* published at the end of September by Ipsos for the association A Compétence Égale, we learn that for 63% of recruiters, there are obstacles to the presentation or selection of senior candidates to recruitment decision-makers. This even climbs to 80% when they practice in practice. And obviously this discrimination in access to employment is widely shared by the candidates. 85% of executives feel concerned.
Perspectives on the obstacles to the recruitment of seniors
Asked about the perceived nature of these barriers, seniors first mention age and the limits it imposes, such as the time left before retirement or a health seen as more fragilebefore considering the obstacles intrinsically linked to their skills.
Conversely, recruiters first think of difficulties integrating into younger teams and at the poor adaptation to new technologies.
“These shared views underline a clear gap in representation, between on the one hand candidates who have no doubts about their skills and their ability to adapt, and on the other, recruiters who still see concrete obstacles, linked to ideas received on the functioning of the senior within the host company”summarize the authors of the study.
A quantified assessment is essential:
- 62% of the seniors presented were seen for an interview;
- 21% of them were recruited;
- 25% of the seniors presented were excluded because of their age, whether they had been seen for an interview or not.
76% of recruiters (and even 80% of recruiters in firms) think that a legal mechanism requiring the hiring of seniors would have a beneficial effect on the employment rate of this population.
To change the situationmore than three-quarters of recruitment professionals indicate that a legal system requiring companies to recruit seniors would increase their employment rate but also that a system promoting the employment of seniors and juniors would also ensure the transmission of knowledge (88%).
“These results, which have shown a very marked increase over the past 4 years (respectively +24 and +15 points), partly underline the difficulties faced by recruiters, who too often still face the reluctance of companies in the case of recruiting a senior person, and the need to put in place specific, more incentive measures”, says the study.
the postponement of the retirement age could it be life-saving for the employment of seniors. Not so sure. Only 18% of candidates and 41% of recruiters believe that this will have a positive impact on the employability of seniors. Pessimism or lucidity?
Amélie Favre Guittet, founder of Madircom: for quotas, for a bonus system, against penalties
“If this can increase the employment rate of seniors, I am in favor of a policy of quota on the subject. Even if it would be a shame to come to that. Currently, seniors are either shelved or simply fired. The definition of the age of a senior is going to make in my opinion great debate. Currently, when on a position, a senior is on the short list, employers always find a bogus excuse not to select them: integration problem, question of feeling… And this, in large groups or in start-ups. I hear “they don’t have the mindset of a start-up”. This is less true in SMEs and ETIs.
In addition to quotas, why not think about a bonus system (reduction of charges, for example) for companies that retain and recruit seniors? This would always be more relevant than penalties which would not be dissuasive. Because if the CFOs calculate that retaining or recruiting a senior costs more than hiring two juniors and paying the penalties, their arbitration will be quick”.
Benoit Serre, Deputy Vice-President of ANDRH: for the quotas, for the idea of supplementing the CPF for seniors and for the idea of a CDD in arrears
“First of all, we can only rejoice that something is finally happening around the employment of seniors. Since 2018, at the ANDRH we have been saying that we cannot carry out a pension reform without worrying about the employment of seniors. On senior quotas, I say why not if it serves a broader objective, namely the employability of seniors.
For example, to ensure that seniors really benefit from continuing education, why not double or triple the annual credit of their personal training account. If necessary, seniors would be better trained and therefore better equipped to apply and be recruited by another company.
And then, why not think about a Special fixed-term contract which would end on the day when the senior could obtain his retirement at full rate. In addition to cultural obstacles (a senior would be less malleable, more difficult to manage, etc.), companies do not want to hire 58-year-old seniors because they are afraid of having them on their hands until they are 65 years old. There, the departure date would be known.
In any case, I believe that raise the retirement age mechanically impacts the employment rate of seniors. My fear is on the contrary that they will be precarious longer”.
Serge Guérin, sociologist specializing in the challenges of aging, professor at Inseec: against quotas, for employment objectives for seniors
“It would be very sad to come to this. I am not pro-quota but if we had to come to that, the senior quotas could not be the same everywhere. It would be necessary to take into account the physical, psychic and mental arduousness of the trades, the size of the companies, the sectors of activity… At the risk that it becomes a gas factory. On the other hand, it seems to me more judicious to give the social partners 6 to 12 months, by professional branch for example, to agree on senior employment objectives. If they couldn’t find an agreement, a quota system would be imposed”.
Pierre Guillet, president of Christian Entrepreneurs and Leaders: against quotas, for part-time work, for a reduction in charges
“By imposing quotas for seniors on companies, we would tackle the problem upside down. Constraints would be put in place for employers who want to recruit but without discriminating. Rather than quotas for seniors, why not develop contracts and work formulas for seniors. For example, their facilitate part-time work. A senior can bring his strong expertise to a company, but not necessarily on a full-time basis. And the rest of the time, carry out a technical and professional education of his expertise. Is the cost of payroll taxes a real obstacle to hiring? Maybe from a certain age, we should lower charges on contracts for over 50s. That would be a real boost.”
Caroline Young, president of Expertconnect: against quotas, for an awareness campaign, for a name and shame on the training of seniors
“Philosophy I am against any quota system. I would prefer that we take inspiration from the action plan for seniors put in place under Sarkozy to change mentalities on the subject of the employment of seniors. It should relaunch a vast national communication campaign around this theme. But also ask companies to demonstrate, with supporting figures, what they are concretely putting in place in favor of the employment of seniors. We know that this population benefits less from continuing education schemes. Employers should therefore detail how they train their seniors, at what rate? In my opinion, it is more virtuous and less restrictive than a quota policy”.
* This study conducted by IPSOS for Equal competence has been conducted online on July 13 and 14, 2022 with 500 candidates (active, salaried, self-employed or looking for work) aged 40 and over and 500 people in charge of recruitment (in a recruitment firm or company – Managers, HRDs, RRHs, operational managers, etc.). Representative populations drawn from a national sample and structured on gender and age quotas.