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This report aims to understand more about the working experiences of older individuals as well as the potential impact changes in the age composition of workplaces may have on their performance. It extends the evidence base on these issues using data from the Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS), a nationally representative survey of British workplaces and their employees. Data were used from the two most recent surveys in the series, which took place in 2004 and 2011. The research has multiple objectives. First it investigates the types of workplaces in which older workers are more commonly employed. Existing studies have established variations in the prevalence of older workers by industry and occupation, among other factors. The analysis focuses on the workplace characteristics that are associated with employing a higher proportion of older workers. The second objective is to explore the prevalence of age-related equal opportunities policies and practices among employers and consider how these relate to the employment of older workers. Legislation requires employers to treat employees equally regardless of age, but some firms adopt practices which go beyond statutory requirements. The third objective is to explore outcomes for older workers and whether these are affected by employer practices. The final objective is to explore the relationship between the age composition of the workforce and workplace performance; this study is the first to do so using nationally representative data on British workplaces.

Key findings [are that]: (1) the proportion of workers aged 50 and over in the workforce rose from 21 per cent in 2004 to 24 per cent in 2011; (2) the proportion of older workers in workplaces varies depending on a number of characteristics: industry; region; occupational group; workplace age; size; union recognition; and the presence of equal opportunities policies; (3) the age composition of private sector workplaces does not have a significant role to play in explaining performance; (4) equal opportunities policies have become more widespread, but practices have not; (5) older workers are less likely to receive training than other workers, but those that do are satisfied with the training offered; (6) on average, older workers report higher job satisfaction, wellbeing and perceptions of fair treatment than younger workers; and (7) employees of all ages, who were able to work flexibly were more likely to be positive about their job.

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A recent article in this journal provided a critique of the design of the Survey of Employees Questionnaire within the 2004 Workplace Employment Relations Survey (WERS). The principal criticisms concerned the use of vague response categories, double-barrelled questions, needless ordinal measurements and the use of multiple binary items in place of ordinal or scalar measures. The critique highlighted some areas worthy of attention but we argue that, in other areas, it took insufficient account of the survey's core objectives and of the practical and financial constraints guiding its design. We offer a broader assessment of sources of error within the WERS 2004 Survey of Employees.

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Work Based Learning for Adults (WBLA) is a voluntary programme designed to help long-term jobless people on a range of benefits move into sustained employment. The programme provides four different types of training (’opportunities’): Short Job-Focused Training (SJFT); Longer Occupational Training (LOT); Basic Employability Training (BET); Self-Employment Provision (SEP). This report presents new, longer-term evaluation results based on administrative data for three opportunities of WBLA, SJFT, LOT and BET. The evidence found for the long-term outcomes of WBLA is mixed for the different opportunities of the programme evaluated here: SJFT results in significant improvement in participants’ employment outcomes in the long-run with an average increase in the employment rate of five percentage points and more sustainable, longer first employment spells. LOT shows significantly positive employment effects only for a period very long after the beginning. However, an effect of reducing the benefit rate in the long-run comparable to the one found for SJFT was not found. The participation in BET leads to higher benefit rates in the long-run and participants show a benefit rate that is 15 percentage points above the level of comparable non-participants 40 months after participation in BET began. When applying a difference-in-differences estimator, BET participation shows an improvement in the employment rates for participants of around three percentage points.

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This report presents new findings on the implementation and effectiveness of Britain's Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) demonstration program, which is being evaluated though a large-scale randomised control trial. ERA's distinctive combination of post-employment advisory support and financial incentives was designed to help low-income individuals who entered work sustain employment and advance in the labour market. The analysis presented here focuses on the experiences of lone parents within the first two years following their entry onto the program.

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This report presents new findings on how an innovative post-employment program in Britain is affecting the employment, earnings and benefits receipt of long-term unemployed individuals. This initiative, called the Employment Retention and Advancement (ERA) demonstration program, is being carefully evaluated through a large-scale randomised control trial. ERA offered a unique combination of financial incentives and in-work support designed to help individuals sustain and advance in the labour market. The demonstration targeted three groups: unemployed lone parents, lone parents working part-time, and long-term unemployed individuals receiving government benefits. While a companion report [indexed at TD/TNC 94.119] presents effects for lone parents, this report focuses on the experiences of the long-term unemployed group, most of whom are men. An earlier evaluation report published in 2007 [indexed at TD/TNC 89.84], showed that, despite significant positive effects for lone parents, ERA's effects for the long-term unemployed group were mixed and uncertain after one year of follow-up. For this group, the program had shown no effects overall on employment or earnings but there were suggestions of positive effects in some districts. The new evidence presented here, covering two years of follow-up, continues to show that ERA's effects were limited. Although the program increased overall employment rates and reduced benefits receipt in year two, these effects were small. However, final assessment of ERA's effectiveness for this group must await longer-term follow-up.

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