van Stolk, Chris

Eurofound’s research on ‘Restructuring in recession and labour force participation’ explored the age management practices of companies in light of restructuring undergone during the recession. The study looked at policy in relation to the retention of older workers (aged 50 or more) in employment at national and establishment levels in nine European Union (EU) Member States: Austria, Belgium, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Latvia, the Netherlands, Spain, Sweden and the United Kingdom.

According to representatives of the company interviewed for this case study, there has been a greater willingness to recruit people aged 50 or more during the economic cycle of the past two to three years, but this is cyclical. Typically, when demand for labour increases in a positive economic cycle, more companies face talent shortages and recruit more 50 individuals. However, according to our respondent, this is not sustained during an economic downturn.

The experience of Made in Inox shows that micro-businesses are unlikely to have a dedicated human resources policy. Rather, they will have a general approach with informal processes, some specific age-related initiatives, and they will also aim to foster a specific organisational culture. Micro-businesses may also resist making redundancies and rely on longer-term relationships with their employees.