Phased pensions, "second careers" ... the government's avenues to improve the employment of seniors

How can the employment of employees over the age of 59, who remains in France below the European average, be maintained? In the midst of a social conflict around the pension reform and while the French will have to "work longer", as the government insists, it is this thorny question that will try to answer from this Tuesday, rue de Grenelle, Édouard Philippe, the Minister of Labor, Muriel Pénicaud, and the social partners.

Their proposals should then be incorporated into the Pensions Bill in the form of amendments. For this, they will rely on the Bellon report, named after the president of the Sodexo board of directors, Sophie Bellon, who on the same day made a much awaited report on the subject at the request of the Prime Minister. Here are the main measures recommended.

Facilitate access to phased retirement and combined employment and retirement

These are two devices deemed unknown and too complex by Sophie Bellon and her two co-rapporteurs, the former deputy director of the Agency for the improvement of working conditions Olivier Mériaux, and the HR director of Bouygues construction Jean-Manuel Soussan . However, they have proven themselves in the Nordic countries, especially in Sweden.

It is therefore recommended to encourage smooth transitions between professional life and retirement and to allow people to start receiving a pension while working part-time.

Make a "cultural revolution" in the company

It is a question of thinking of new ways of organizing work in the company to better integrate older employees, allow them to change tasks according to their physical capacities and their desires. For this, it is a question, in connection with occupational medicine, of individualizing the career paths of each, that is to say changing the employment of each employee over his career.

"A man who arrives in a company as a worker with arduous tasks to accomplish at 20 years old should no longer be a worker at 40 years", summarizes Sophie Bellon. “Companies evolve in a binary system compared to their employees. There are those who work and those who retire, they lack imagination! Also launched Jean-Manuel Soussan, the HR director of Bouygues construction and one of the report's co-authors. This would also “reduce the absenteeism of older people,” say the co-rapporteurs.

Establish the "right to ask"

Modeled on the Anglo-Saxon "right to request", the idea is to allow an employee over the age of 50 to request a reasonable arrangement of work organization according to the needs of the company and his condition health. In addition, the report suggests, in the same vein, to encourage the professional branches to negotiate lower wages for employees at the end of their careers, in the event that their responsibilities become lighter.

Allow "second careers"

The training offer must be improved to encourage retraining or allow "second careers" depending on the state of health and the nature of the employee's work. For this, it is necessary to anticipate and train the employee, throughout his life.

The Bellon report thus recommends increasing the share of public expenditure on training devoted to retraining and transition systems and uncapping the personal training account from the age of 45.

Strengthening the role of occupational physicians

While the number of occupational doctors continues to decrease in France, the report recommends on the contrary to invest in occupational medicine. "Medical visits to companies are decreasing," deplores Sophie Bellon. On the contrary, the prevention of professional wear and tear must be placed at the center of the future occupational health reform. "

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These include promoting links and communication between the occupational physician, the employee's treating physician and the company, but also strengthening the weight of the occupational physician in the enterprise.