Age does matter: 1 in 5 Singapore companies still sacking old workers

Sad to see that companies are letting their most loyal employees go.

According to a research from the Ministry of Manpower, nearly eight in ten (79%) private establishments reported they had implemented measures to allow their local employees to work beyond 62 in 2011, up from 77% in 2010. These establishments employed a large majority or 88% of the local employees in the private sector, up from 85% in 2010.

Here's more from MoM:

The 79% of private establishments with measures allowing employment beyond 62 comprised 57% which allowed their employees to continue working on existing contracts and 22% which offered re-employment. Nevertheless, more locals were employed in establishments offering re-employment (50%) than in establishments allowing continuation on existing contracts (38%), as larger establishments were more likely to offer re-employment than smaller establishments.

Nearly nine in ten (89%) private establishments offering re-employment indicated 12 months as the minimum duration of the re-employment contracts. In line with tripartite guidelines, almost all (95%) reported that the re-employment contracts were renewable up till the age of 65, as long as the employee continued to meet the medical fitness and work performance requirements.

More private establishments offering re-employment had a policy of engaging their retiring employees in re-employment consultation in 2011 (75%) than the year before (61%). This included 42% which would conduct the re-employment consultation at least 6 months before the employee reaches 62, in line with the tripartite guidelines, up from 31% in 2010.

Nearly three in eight (36%) private establishments had local employees who turned 62 in the year ending June 2011, involving some 11,500 local employees. This was an increase from 32% and 9,900 local employees in 2010.  Amid the tight labour market and tripartite efforts at promoting re-employment, nearly all (97% or 11,100) the local employees retiring in 2011 were offered employment beyond 62. Most accepted the offer, forming slightly over nine in ten (92% or 10,600) of the retiring cohort. Nearly two-thirds (64%) continued working on their existing contracts while about three in ten (28%) were re-employed under a new contract, mostly with no change in their job scope (27%).