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Job displacement (involuntary job loss due to firm closure or downsizing) affects many workers over their lifetime. Displaced workers may face long periods of unemployment and, even when they find new jobs, tend to be paid less and have fewer benefits than in their prior jobs. Helping them get back into good jobs quickly should be a key goal of labour market policy. This report is [part of] a series of reports looking at how this challenge is being tackled in a number of OECD countries. It shows that Denmark has effective policies in place to quickly assist people who are losing their jobs, in terms of both providing good re-employment support and securing adequate income in periods of unemployment. Despite a positive institutional framework, a sound collaboration between social partners and a favourable policy set-up, there is room to improve policies targeted to displaced workers as not every worker in Denmark can benefit from the same amount of support. In particular, workers affected by collective dismissals in larger firms receive faster and better support than those in small firms or involved in small or individual dismissals. Blue-collar workers are also treated less favourably than white-collar workers. More generally, low-skilled and older displaced workers struggle most to re-enter the labour market.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner.

The contents are as follows: Job displacement in Denmark and its consequences; The Danish flexicurity model and institutional setup; Job displacement prevention and early intervention policies in Denmark; Income support as a safety net for displaced workers in Denmark; Effective re-employment support for displaced workers in Denmark. Show less

This paper examines the impact of job loss due to firm closure on workers' employment, earnings, and benefit receipt. It uses data from Statistics New Zealand's Linked Employer-Employee Data (LEED). The impact of job displacement was estimated by comparing the changes in labour market outcomes for workers who experienced a closure or restructuring, with the changes in outcomes for a control group of workers who were employed at firms that did not experience these events. The analysis allows the estimated impacts of displacement to vary according to the type of event experienced. It also assesses whether the effects of job displacement differ for workers with different personal and job characteristics, and whether there are identifiable impacts on people who worked at affected firms in the year prior to the closure or restructuring. The analysis found that job loss due to firm closure has persistent impacts on the sub-sample of workers who were most likely to have experienced a complete firm closure. The employment rate for these workers is 17 per cent lower one year after the firm closed than those for comparable workers at non-closing firms, and remain 12 per cent lower four years after the closure. Similarly, monthly earnings are 22 per cent lower one year after the closure and 16 per cent lower four years after the closure. The benefit receipt rate is 45 per cent higher one year after the closure, although this increase is from a very low base. The analysis reveals smaller but still significant negative impacts for workers whose firm event was classified as a partial closure. Displacement has relatively little impact, on average, on the outcomes of workers who were most likely to have experienced a firm restructuring. Employees at small and medium-sized establishments that closed experienced greater employment and earnings losses than those at closing firms with 50 or more employees. Employees with at least two years of job tenure also sustained larger losses than those with shorter tenure. Although overseas studies have found that mature workers in the 55 years and over age bracket tend to be harder hit by redundancy than prime-age workers, in this study the impacts on prime-aged and older employees were of a similar magnitude, while larger impacts were found for younger employees.

Excerpt from publication. Show less

The author describes a project designed to attract severely disadvantaged/disaffected young people back into education. The target for Youthstart 2: the Nett Project was young people who had recently left school, who had never worked, who are part of families where redundancy and unemployment is the norm and who often had histories of non-attendance at school. Wilkie explains the difficulties in first of all attracting students and then keeping them. An innovative approach, an informal atmosphere, peer review and monitoring, all helped to encourage the few students who joined this special program. The appointment of an 'animateur' to assist the project to create web pages and develop Internet and e-mail skills, was particularly successful as he had, before retraining, been both redundant and then unemployed, but was using his new skills to benefit the community. Show less

The Australian Employers Convention (AEC) was established in 1999 to promote the benefits of an age balanced workforce to businesses around Australia. The AEC undertakes Australian-based research and consults international literature to develop information products and resources for the Australian business community. The aim is to inform business of the current trends resulting in the de-skilling and displacement of workers as they age and the challenges for business of the ageing demographic of the population and the associated labour market. This report analyses the direct and secondary costs of employment-induced early retirement and highlights the impact of this phenomenon on the economic sustainability of Australia's ageing population. Case studies are used to investigate government expenditure relating to the induced early retirement of those workers whose jobs have been 'lost to the economy', that is, those jobs that have been made redundant for a variety of reasons, or those who have been displaced from work as a result of redundancy. The results question the effectiveness of the existing superannuation system in providing financial independence for retirees and emphasise the need for policy development in the area of mature age unemployment and into the continuation of employment into old age as a means of containing the costs of the ageing population. Show less

Purpose - Learning at work generalises through socialisation into behaviours away from the workplace. The aim of this study is to give empirical evidence of a positive relationship between job design, self-efficacy, competence efficacy and personal initiative at work, and proactive job search while under notice of redundancy and in unemployment. Design/methodology/approach - The results are based on a detailed work task analysis and self-reported data by individuals who had been made redundant (n=176). Findings - The paper finds that the theoretical model received substantial, but not full support. Job design has impact on personal initiative through self-efficacy and competence-efficacy as mediating variables between job design and personal initiative. Personal initiative at work affects proactive job search when facing unemployment. Research limitations/implications - A limitation is that the respondents in general had jobs that were low-skilled and routine. It is likely that a research group with larger differences in job design would show stronger relations between job design and personal initiative. Practical implications - Work task analysis identifies conditions at work that minimise and mitigate individual initiative and makes it possible to correct them in order both to enhance organisational effectiveness and the individuals' long-term employability. Originality/value - The paper proposes that autonomy and complexity, which are the aspects most predominant in the study of how job design affects personal initiative and self-efficacy, are too limited. The sequential completeness provides a broader or narrower scope of work tasks and more or less feedback which is crucial for learning and mastery-experiences. Demand on cooperation, demand on responsibility, cognitive demand and learning opportunities affect initiative-taking as well.

Published abstract reprinted by permission of the copyright owner. Show less

Job displacement (involuntary job loss due to firm closure or downsizing) affects many workers over their lifetime. Displaced workers may face long periods of unemployment and, even when they find new jobs, tend to be paid less than in their prior jobs. Helping them get back into good jobs quickly should be a key goal of labour market policy. This report looks at how this challenge is being tackled in Canada. While the Canadian government uses several measures to prevent unnecessary layoffs, the focus is placed on assisting workers after they have lost their job via the Employment Insurance system and the core labour market programmes operated by the Provinces. Re-employment assistance tailored to meet the specific needs of displaced workers also plays a useful role, but needs to be reinforced so as to start the adjustment process earlier for workers receiving advance notice or a large severance payment and to reach workers affected by small-scale displacements. Targeted programmes for older displaced workers with long-tenure who are hardest hit have yet to reach a large share of this group.

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This series provides an annual assessment of key labour market developments and prospects in OECD member countries. This edition looks at labour markets in the wake of the economic crisis, finding that there are still over 48 million people out of work in the OECD area. Each edition also contains several chapters focusing on specific aspects of how labour markets function and the implications for policy in order to promote more and better jobs. This year’s special chapters cover three topics: (1) recent reforms of employment protection legislation; (2) activation policies; and (3) displaced workers.

Useful lessons are drawn from a recent OECD review of benefit systems, public and private employment services, and employment and training programs in seven member countries. The situation of youth and older workers in challenging labour markets is examined and an update provided of employment protection in OECD countries and selected emerging economies. The report concludes with the key findings of a new international study of involuntary job loss as a result of firms downsizing, moving or going out of business. The report includes an extensive statistical annex on key labour market indicators.

The chapters are as follows: All in it together?: the experience of different labour market groups following the crisis; Protecting jobs, enhancing flexibility: a new look at employment protection legislation; Activating jobseekers: lessons from seven OECD countries; Back to work: re-employment, earnings and skill use after job displacement; Statistical annex. Show less

This report focuses on the consequences of restructuring for employees. It examines which employees lost their job at the onset of the economic crisis, which of them found a new job and how both job loss and subsequent re-employment impacted on their overall life situation and satisfaction. It also looks at the impact on working conditions for employees who remain at the restructured firm. Both these studies, of those who lost their jobs and those who stayed at the restructured workplace, have never before been analysed by using common, [European Union] EU-wide and representative, data sets. The report also provides an overview of recent restructuring using the [European Restructuring Monitor] ERM database. While restructuring cases reporting job loss have fallen since the peak of 2009, they still outnumber announcements of job gain. Several recent cases testify to serious problems in the once very promising alternative energy sector in Europe. The findings show that much of the recently announced job creation is in the hotels and retail sectors.

Abstract from publisher's website. Show less

This paper draws on case-study research of dismissed metal workers at a Norway shipyard to explore the influence of structural features and individual skills on the dismissed workers' ability to handle an insecure labour market situation i.e. what factors influence the metal workers' redundancy and what factors influence their re-employment. The aim is to map the factors that appear to be of importance for successful re-employment. The paper begins by discussing the concept of employability, arguing that it is important to understand employability as containing both individual skills and structural factors and the interplay between them. The paper concludes that: relatively few strategies were developed to secure and improve the situation for displaced workers; and while no clear conclusions could be drawn concerning the importance of formal skills in gaining re-employment, it was noted that most of the re-employed workers had the formal and informal skills required of welding and sheet metal occupations in the shipbuilding industry.

The seven volumes are indexed from TD/TNC 83.174 to TD/TNC 83.180. Selected papers from this conference have also been published in 'The journal of workplace learning' and have been selectively indexed from TD/TNC 79.471 to TD/TNC 79.480; other selected papers are indexed at TD/TNC 76.108 and TD/TNC 77.341, and from TD/TNC 83.402 to TD/TNC 83.427. Show less

In this case study, the authors attempt to identify best practice in human resource management by investigating HR departments in various organisations, one of which is NSW TAFE.

Quantitative data concerning HR budgets are documented. Qualitative data relating to changes, culture, mission, personal ambitions for the department, guiding philosophy and criteria for success are also captured.

Sections are devoted to recruitment, selection, performance management, career development, remuneration, industrial relations, retirement, redundancy, and poor performance.

For each area studied, TAFE's position is compared with the average of other participating organisations.

Graphs are provided throughout the study. Show less