Only 14% of UK managers consider their business is prepared to cope with the demands of an increasingly older workforce, according to research by the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the Chartered Institute of Personnel and Development (CIPD).

The report, ’Managing an Ageing Workforce’, found that 34% of managers claim that board-level recognition of ageing workforce issues is non-existent. It also reveals that 43% are not well-informed about their organisation’s retirement policies, while 40% have experienced age discrimination at some stage in their careers.

Petra Wilton, the CMI’s director of policy and research, says: “This latest research makes it clear that those at senior level in particular are failing to take the issue seriously and that discrimination is still too frequent. If action isn’t taken, employees who are in the 50-plus age bracket will feel undervalued and will have no incentive to carry on working beyond normal retirement age.”

Chris Ball, chief executive of TAEN – The Age and Employment Network, believes that UK companies are dragging their heels and are failing to introduce policies to make their businesses able to meet the demographic challenges they will face.

Ball says: “While 93% of UK managers appreciate the value of retaining the knowledge and experience of older workers, these same managers admit to being ill informed about their organisation’s retirement policies, know that age discrimination still exists and admit that their own organisations are not age diverse.”