ady1:
got a letter telling me stobarts are now having a declared retirement age of 65, about time someone took the bull by the horns , youve got 70 yr olds working 6 days a week, 67 year olds doing 80 hrs a week, these blokes should be on some coach trips to scarborough,torquay,sitting on the beach with a hanky on there head, not working 15 hrs a day,eventually retireing into a wooden box .itll release up loads of jobs for folks who cant get them.
at last a change thats got to be for the good of the employee .
You should try to manage on the old age pension, While I am fit enough I will carry on driving.
Retire at 65,no thanks,my old man did it,retired on his 65th birthday which was a Thursday and dropped dead on the following Tuesday.Least kept mother in extra cash for her remaining years.If your fit enough and can pass a proper medical then if you want carry on but some chap on the radio today over 70,well I think he did one job too many.
greg50:
why should a person be forced to retire if they are fit enough to keep going,its a bit unfair to put people out off work and force then to stay at home,of lie down and die perhapsā¦
as for coach trips,i wouldnt think the average lorry driver[or ex] would be too happy on a coach tour to scarborough or anywhere else,they have seen enough of these places all their lives.
wife,kids,grandkids,holidays,hobbies,socialize there really is no need to lie down and die
fair comment andy,but you would need a lot of money to do the things you mention.
wives/kids/grandkids/holidays.
in an ideal world great.
the average retired hgv driver wouldnt have the funds to facilitate these pleasures.
Itās my belief that driving is probably the only blue collar job where age is a positive asset. Many firms wonāt take under 25ās anyway, citing insurance.
Older drivers are experienced, reliable and donāt take days off without good reason.
Got my letter this week. Now forgive me for being cynical but methinks itās just ESLs way of avoiding driver CPC training for those approaching 63-64-65.
Think about it. Several hundred pounds spent on training and the driver breathes his last the next day or goes to work for another company after being trained and retired at 65
Then again, could depriving the older drivers of training be construed as discrimination?
ā¦but some chap on the radio today over 70, well I think he did one job too manyā¦
Would that be Wogansā new Sunday show? Quite impressed!
Itās all down to money. If you have a savings and a personal pension pot that will pay out then you can enjoy yourself, then take off as soon as you like. However, thereās an awful lot of people that are going to be living on a state pension and that gets you nowhere.
Just for information if you do want to carry on and itās possible to work after 65 (66 in my case) then you can defer taking your government pension. A guy at our place deferred for nearly two years and he got an extra Ā£42.00 a week.
the bit im struggling with here is every day i get my ear bent by a older drivers telling me the job isnt was it was,no commardrie, no one wants to share a brew,a chin wag,a beer on a night,its all self,self,rather watch a dvd ,then when it comes to retiring at a sensible age no-one wants to .
it makes no sense to me what so-ever, every day drivers say they want to get out the game, a firm makes a decision for all employees to retire at a set age , and most are moaning they want to carry on.
i can see if someone has no real provision to retire its a problem, but surely by stobarts setting a age limit folks will no they have to get pensions etc sorted out as they wont just be able to carry on working too they drop,unlike now
Some people like to moan about the job, itās what keeps them alive! Thing is, Iām guessing since Iām 20 hears off retiring, once you actually get to the point where you can/should/have to then you might see thing differently. The guy that delayed retiring with us left and then a few months later he was back on agency because he got bored and was under herselfās feet. Who knows how you will feel when you have to. Iām certainly not in favour of a set retirement age, you should give up when you want to.
the other thing is that it is very difficult to make sufficient provison for your old age for some people. I know of only one person in our place of 20 drivers that has his own pension. Most people are complaining they are short of money.
If you look at how much you have to put in to get much out. My projections are for 16k a year on my pension, which wonāt mean much in another 20 years time and I pay a noticeable amount into it.
ady1:
got a letter telling me stobarts are now having a declared retirement age of 65, about time someone took the bull by the horns , youve got 70 yr olds working 6 days a week, 67 year olds doing 80 hrs a week, these blokes should be on some coach trips to scarborough,torquay,sitting on the beach with a hanky on there head, not working 15 hrs a day,eventually retireing into a wooden box .itll release up loads of jobs for folks who cant get them.
at last a change thats got to be for the good of the employee .
ady1:
got a letter telling me stobarts are now having a declared retirement age of 65, about time someone took the bull by the horns , youve got 70 yr olds working 6 days a week, 67 year olds doing 80 hrs a week, these blokes should be on some coach trips to scarborough,torquay,sitting on the beach with a hanky on there head, not working 15 hrs a day,eventually retireing into a wooden box .itll release up loads of jobs for folks who cant get them.
at last a change thats got to be for the good of the employee .
to be honest wheelnut i did wonder that myself,very local to me,big news in local rag, only the other week they were telling me about a 70+ year old driver who was doing 6 days one week,5 the next,1 a.m starts,crazy, yes he may not have a great pension,who knows , but surely at 70+ you dont need to do a days o/t and start at 1 in the morn.its got to be a recipe for disaster.
which is probally why the decisions been made, these 60/70 yr olds cant be trusted to carry on driving in a sensible way, 7 a.m starts,2/3 days a week,they just carry on canning it until disaster strikes
The law on age discrimination is designed to encourage your employer to only retire you if it is appropriate and necessary to do so. However, your employer does have the right to retire you at your normal retirement age (or the default retirement age of 65) as long as they follow the correct procedure.
The procedure includes:
a requirement that your employer gives you at least six monthsā notice of your retirement date
your right to request to work past your retirement date, and your employer having a duty to consider such a request
Your employer is not obliged to retire you as soon as you reach your normal retirement age (or 65).
If your employer retires you before your normal retirement age (or 65), this may amount to age discrimination and unfair dismissal.
Not sure it answers it Del, i think there are some exceptions. We had at least one guy who was finished by Maritime as he had reached retirement age and he came and started for us.
Iāll add my bit for what itās worth.
I have been retired now since last May, it wasnāt something that I had intended as I had my own truck and had been in the game for 45 yrs 15 as an owner driver.
It was the recession that made my mind up, all my work went down the pan and it gave me that needed push to say thatās it Ive had enough,
(best thing that has happened to me) and I think that is what prompts drivers/owner drivers and even small hauliers to get out when they are of a certain age.
There comes a time for most of us when we know the time is right, be it 60 70 or 80.
I worked with a chap who was still driving when he reached the age of 80 , and I asked him why he was still doing it, and he told me that the doctor had told him ānever to retireā and he still enjoyed what he was doing - his lifestyle suited him.
So there you have it different strokes for different folks.
I will say that to a certain extent we are somewhat brainwashed over our working life to feeling that it is normal to work, and some of us feel guilty when we take it easy, but anyone contemplating retirement, I will say that it takes a bit of getting used to, but when I think about all the mornings I have got out of bed at 3am, and all the agro attached to the job, itās no contest for me I love it.
ady1:
got a letter telling me stobarts are now having a declared retirement age of 65, about time someone took the bull by the horns , youve got 70 yr olds working 6 days a week, 67 year olds doing 80 hrs a week, these blokes should be on some coach trips to scarborough,torquay,sitting on the beach with a hanky on there head, not working 15 hrs a day,eventually retireing into a wooden box .itll release up loads of jobs for folks who cant get them.
at last a change thats got to be for the good of the employee .
to be honest wheelnut i did wonder that myself,very local to me,big news in local rag, only the other week they were telling me about a 70+ year old driver who was doing 6 days one week,5 the next,1 a.m starts,crazy, yes he may not have a great pension,who knows , but surely at 70+ you dont need to do a days o/t and start at 1 in the morn.its got to be a recipe for disaster.
which is probally why the decisions been made, these 60/70 yr olds cant be trusted to carry on driving in a sensible way, 7 a.m starts,2/3 days a week,they just carry on canning it until disaster strikes
Why canāt they be trusted if they are fit and healthy, I know plenty of old drivers and farm workers who are working long hours, in fact without it theyād probably be dead within months. It is just part of the culture they were brought up in and they can probably handle it better than many who are younger.
The ablility of a driver to do a decent job has far more to do with them as an induvidual than thier age and that goes for young or old drivers.
If it did it only goes to show their ineptitude for management.
Every time this type of issue is raised someone comes up with an article about an older driver having an accident but the fact is that itās the younger generation who the insurance companies regard as the biggest liability yet we donāt condemn all young drivers as potential killers do we
Lets try to keep the discussion sensible and realistic folks
Would it perhaps make sense to encourage job sharing amongst older drivers, this would allow people who wish to carry on working to do so whilst at the same time creating jobs for the younger drivers.
I disagree. You should be able to continue to work as long as you want to, no job sharing malarkey. I do agree with your take on someone mentioning an older driver having an accident. Government reckon we (everyone working) are going to have to pay for a older/aging population. What they donāt say or tell you is that many of them are working or want to work. And yes its true that a 65 year old may need his pay packet every bit as desperatley as a 25 year old and is able to earn it, whats the difference?
albion:
Itās all down to money. If you have a savings and a personal pension pot that will pay out then you can enjoy yourself, then take off as soon as you like. However, thereās an awful lot of people that are going to be living on a state pension and that gets you nowhere.
Just for information if you do want to carry on and itās possible to work after 65 (66 in my case) then you can defer taking your government pension. A guy at our place deferred for nearly two years and he got an extra Ā£42.00 a week.
Thatās what I have done - My state pension will be about Ā£150 a week if I take it from June this year.
How many of these older drivers are working fulltime and how many are just doing a few hours to make ends meet or add to thier pension.
I know smaller companies who donāt use agencies, but have a couple of retired drivers they can call when they need them. Works for them as they know the drivers and the drivers know the job and the other lads on the fleet.
.