Staff to work on past 65 but managers prefer change

Published on Tuesday 26 June 2007 01:48

TWO Scottish employment surveys yesterday highlighted both an ageing working population expecting to work longer, and one in which middle managers are becoming increasingly restless.

The National Management Salary Survey, published by the Chartered Management Institute, showed that, as well as movement in earnings in Scotland falling for the first time since 2004, resignation levels are up and employers are facing record recruitment and retention problems. Some 77 per cent of organisations said they have problems retaining staff, up from 55 per cent, last year. Resignation rates, at 5 per cent, are up from 2.5 per cent last year.

There has also been a slowdown in pay rises - the average is 5.3 per cent, a drop from 5.7 per cent in 2006. It is also the lowest movement in earnings since 1996. More than 80 per cent of firms said they can't attract staff, a figure that has gone up four times in five years. The average manager's earnings in Scotland are now 47,902 with an array of differences across industry sectors and regions.

Separately, Aon Consulting said that its research showed Scottish employers should start to prepare for an ageing workforce as three-quarters of employees now anticipate working beyond 65. UK-wide, only an estimated one million are currently working past state pension age, but this is expected to treble amongst people aged 65-70 by 2017.

Aon Consulting's research found that over a quarter (26 per cent) of Scottish workers would carry on working past the retirement age simply because they wanted to, whereas just 49 per cent believe it will be necessary to increase their pension.

• UK consumers are getting increasingly worried about their job prospects. Nearly a quarter said they had less job security than a year ago, while fewer than one in five said they had more, according to a Lloyds TSB survey.