2: Healthy workplaces for all ages

Safety and health at work in the context of an ageing workforce

Legal obligation

Employers have a legal duty to ensure the safety and health of workers in every aspect related to the work. This includes assessing the risks to the safety and health of workers and adapting work to the individual.

The law also obliges employers to treat workers equally and prohibits discrimination based on age or

A disabled worker is a worker with physical or mental impairments that may hamper the work performance. Disabled workers include people with chronic, long-term or progressive conditions. (Source)

However, with a view to ensuring full equality in practice, the principle of equal treatment does not prevent employers from adopting specific measures to prevent or compensate for disadvantages linked to age or

A disabled worker is a worker with physical or mental impairments that may hamper the work performance. Disabled workers include people with chronic, long-term or progressive conditions. (Source)

. This includes measures to protect health and safety at work or aimed at promoting the integration of older people, or people with disabilities into the working environment.

Applicable legislation:

OHSA ACT EN
Legal Notices

Malta is experiencing an ageing workforce that is considered one of the most challenging areas in matters pertaining to occupational health and safety.

The ageing workforce and occupational health and safety are two areas that are interlinked in various ways. In order to experience an increase in life expectancy, workplaces must be healthier and safer, hence the importance of managing occupational health and safety.

During 2014, OHSA, in collaboration with the European Agency for Safety and Health at Work (EU‐OSHA) and the Active Ageing Unit, in the Department for the Elderly and Community Care, organized a seminar on how to manage occupational health and safety within the perspective of an ageing workforce. The main aim of the seminar was to instil a risk preventive culture in connection with the concept of active ageing – “safer and healthier work at any age”.

The seminar expounded on the relationship between the ageing workforce and occupational health and safety. The seminar that saw the participation of various key speakers and social partners provided various insights and practical measures on how occupational health and safety can be managed to address the challenging factors of an ageing workforce. The result was a common understanding that in order to have better health and an increase in life expectancy, workplaces must be healthier and safer.

The National Strategy on Active Ageing launched by the Maltese Government in 2013 applicable from 2014 to 2020 proposes work settings that ensure workers’ lifelong

Employability can be defined as ‘the quality of being employable’ or the ‘combination of factors permitting access to work, to maintain it and to progress in one’s career’.

, equal access to training, age-appropriate training systems, flexible and individual work designs, age-friendly shift rotas and occupational support from well-informed management. The Strategy highlights that guidance services available to older workers tend to be fragmented and sporadic. The Strategy for Active Ageing also identifies a gap in the services available for persons aged above statutory retirement age who wish to return to work or take-up self-employment. Another gap relates to an absence of planned reduction of working hours, rather than an abrupt transition from work to absolute retirement.

Considering age and diversity in risk assessments

Risk assessment is a step in the OSH risk management process that allows identifying potential risks and hazards that workers may be exposed to and deciding on protective and preventive measures that are necessary to be implemented. It is a dynamic process that allows organisations to put in place a proactive policy for managing occupational risks. (Source)

is the cornerstone of effective health and safety management. When carrying out risk assessments, it is important to take into account workforce diversity and pay special attention to workers who may be especially vulnerable: young workers, older workers, people with disabilities, women.

Age is one aspect of diversity, and specific risk factors related to age need to be considered in risk assessments. In the case of young workers, risks include lack of experience, and for older workers, risks are related to potential changes in functional capacities.

Individuals vary greatly in terms of health and fitness and these differences increase with age, therefore assumptions must not be made purely based on age.

More about age-sensitive risk assessments can be found here.

Key points that should be considered in relation to risk assessments are:

Carry out or review risk assessments regularly;
Consider the tasks involved in specific jobs;
Corrective measures should be based on capabilities and objective risks rather than solely on age; and
Provide regular health checks to identify problems.

The following hazards, among others, need specific consideration in the case of older workers:

Ergonomic hazards, such as repetitive movements, manual handling, awkward, uncomfortable postures, static postures;
Shift work;
Hot, cold or noisy work environments, vibration; and
Working at height.

Issues to consider in the case of older women include:

Menopause (with symptoms such as fatigue, sleep disturbance, hot flushes); and
Caring responsibilities (which can affect both male and female workers, but in practice tend to fall mostly on women. Care duties among the workforce rise with age, but are most common among workers aged 50 to 64 years).

Psychosocial risks are those aspects of work design and the organisation and management of work, and their social and environmental context, which may have the potential to cause psychological or physical harm. Issues such as work-related stress, workplace violence and harassment are linked to psychosocial risks. (Source)

(for more information click here):

Obsolete skills, lack of training;
Age discrimination; and
Poor work-life balance due to caring responsibilities.

During risk assessments it is important to:

Involve workers’ representatives and workers, including older workers, to ensure that their needs and perspectives are considered;
Ensure that full-time, part-time and flexible workers are considered in the assessment;
Assess work tasks as they are being carried out (not just focus on job titles), to gain a more accurate perspective of actual behaviours and physical and mental loads experienced by the worker; and
Provide risk reduction measures that have an impact on all workers, including older workers.

In addition to

, health surveillance can provide valuable information, as it can indicate lapses in workplace control measures and help detect risk factors at an early stage.

Adapting the workplace

Based on the

, employers might need to make adjustments to match the changing capacities and health status of workers. Measures should be based on objective risks and workers' capabilities, rather than on their age.

Examples of adaptations include:

Adapting existing equipment or providing new equipment to eliminate or reduce manual handling, repetitive and forceful movements, awkward postures;
Providing adjustable workstations to suit all users of all ages operating them;
Rotating tasks;
Automating routine or monotonous tasks;
Changing shift patterns; and
Adjusting lighting.

Workplace adaptations should be a dynamic and continuous process based on risk assessments throughout a person’s career. Good workplace design and work organisation benefits workers of all age groups.

Examples of good practices

Here you can read more about how age-related changes can impact a worker's functional capacities and how this can be addressed at work.

Holistic approach to occupational safety and health management and the

Work ability can be described as the balance between the resources of the individual and work related factors. Work ability is also influenced by the environment outside of work. Personal resources include the following elements: (1) health and functional capacities; (2) competences and skills; (3) values, attitudes and motivation. Work related factors comprise work content, work environment, work organisation and leadership. (Source)

concept

Managing occupational safety and health in the context of an ageing workforce requires a holistic approach, taking into account various factors that influence a person’s ability to work. The

concept represents such an approach. Learn more about the

concept here (next section).