Monday 4th December, 2006
DWP RECOGNISES ASDA’S CONTINUED GOOD PRACTICE ON AGE DIVERSITY
Director general of Department for Work & Pensions visits supermarket’s head office in Leeds
Phil Wynn Owen, a director general at the Department for Work and Pensions, presented ASDA's people director, David Smith, with an Age Positive Employer Champion certificate, recognising ASDA's continued good practice on age diversity, when he visited the supermarket's head office in Leeds on Friday (1st December).
During the visit, discussion took place around the challenges of a mixed age workforce and employment practices, as well as innovations which encourage age diversity and the recruitment, retention and development of older workers.
David Smith, ASDA's people director, said: "We were delighted to host the DWP's director general at our head office and talk to him about how we put age diversity into practice.
"We've always been really proud of the fact that we have such a diverse workforce with colleagues as young as 16, whilst others are in their 80's. We're in no doubt that this benefits everyone, especially our customers.
"We've understood for many years now that an older workforce offers maturity, commitment and knowledge, which our customers value.
"Over the years, we've found that some of our best colleagues are also some of our oldest, with loads of experience to share with younger colleagues – they make a massive difference to our stores."
ASDA is one of the UK’s biggest private sector employers of the over 50s, with more than 30,000 older workers amongst its colleagues.
Not only has the supermarket embraced the new age discrimination legislation that came into force in October, but it also has policies in place going beyond the legislation with no official retirement age and no age limit for recruitment.
In addition, ASDA no longer asks people applying for a job at any of its 313 stores across the UK to give their date of birth on their application form, reinforcing the fact that age does not play any part in its recruitment process.
The Age Positive campaign is run by the Department for Work and Pensions, promoting the benefits of employing a mixed-age workforce including older and younger people, and encouraging employers to make decisions about recruitment, training and retention that do not discriminate against someone because of their age.
ASDA has been an Age Positive Employer Champion since 2000.
Notes for Editors
For an image of Phil Wynn Owen presenting David Smith with an Age Positive Employer Champion certificate, visit the press centre's image library (people)
ASDA is one of the UK’s largest private sector employers of older workers with more than 30,000 colleagues who are aged 50+, around twenty per cent of the workforce
Around 2,300 colleagues working for ASDA are beyond the state pension age of 65
Colleague case studies of older workers are available on request
ASDA PEOPLE MAKING THE DIFFERENCE
At ASDA, it’s people that make the difference. Every one of the store’s 150,000 colleagues play a part in making the business a success and over 93,000 of them own a stake in the business through one of the UK's biggest share ownership schemes.
The workforce represents all ages, genders and ethnic groups and our people policies reflect that.
A range of award-winning flexible working packages allow colleagues to achieve a balance between their family, learning and religious commitments. Carefully selected healthcare, legal and financial partners deliver benefits that offer real peace of mind whilst links with cinemas, holiday companies and UK day-trip destinations ensure colleagues and their families can share in our sense of fun.
Flexible Working for Students, Carers and Career breakers - it's not just parents who need flexibility and ASDA recognises that with the following leave packages such as:
Career break - Colleagues can take a career break of up to 2 years.
Store swapping schemes - available for students wishing to work in their study store as well as in their home store.
There 2 Care leave - Colleagues can take up to 26 weeks leave to care for a sick or elderly relative or friend.
It’s my Day - Launched to celebrate ASDA’s 40th birthday. Colleagues can take a day’s unpaid holiday to celebrate an event special to them.
Examples of Family Friendly Working include:
Child care leave - available for parents to stop work for a short period during the summer holidays, returning later with continuous service and maintained benefits
Shift swapping schemes - available for colleagues needing to be absent from work for specific family or domestic reasons
School starter scheme - a unique scheme that allows parents to take a half day holiday on their child's first day at school
Emergency family leave - Reasonable time off to deal with family emergencies which may arise.
Grandparents’ leave - On the birth of a grandchild, grandparents are often involved in carer duties. To help with this up to a weeks leave is available
Job share - To help managers balance home and work life
Parental leave – parents may stop work for a short period of between one and 4 weeks per year or extended leave of up to 8 weeks during summer holidays
IVF Leave - In June 2003 ASDA was Britain’s first company to launch paid leave for colleagues undergoing fertility treatment. The new leave packages came after feedback from colleagues who said they wanted to be more open about such treatment and asked ASDA to play a part in relieving the stress that naturally accompanies IVF treatment
