Netherlands Report on Older Workers 2014

1. AGEING AND EMPLOYMENT POLICIES
THE NETHERLANDS
WORKING BETTER WITH AGE
Dutch Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment,
Wednesday 16 April 2014
Stefano Scarpetta
Director for Employment, Labour and Social Affairs, OECD

2. Outline of the presentation
• The labour market situation of older workers
in the Netherlands
• Key recommendations for the Netherlands
• Working Better with Age: the OECD review

3. THE LABOUR MARKET SITUATION
OF OLDER WORKERS
IN THE NETHERLANDS

4. The effective labour market exit age in the
Netherlands has reached the OECD average
Source: OECD
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
Netherlands OECD country with highest age OECD country with lowest age OECD average
50
55
60
65
70
75
80
Men Women

5. The employment rate of 55-64s in the
Netherlands is above the OECD average
Employment rates (55-64), 2007 and 2013
As a percentage of the population aged 55-64
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
2013 2007
Source: OECD estimates based on national labour force surveys.

6. … but lags behind concerning working
after 65
Employment rates (65-69), 2007 and 2012
As a percentage of the population aged 65-69
Source: OECD, Working Better with Age, Netherlands – Figure 2.1.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
2012 2007

7. A strong part-time culture in the Netherlands:
66% of women and 16% of men aged 55-64 work part-time
compared with respectively 29% and 10% in OECD average
Part-time work, 2012
As a percentage of employment in the age group
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
55-64 25-54
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
Men
Women
Source: OECD, Working Better with Age, Netherlands – Figure 5.9.

8. Full-time equivalent employment rates of 55-64s are
lower than the OECD average, particularly for women
Employment rates (55-64) (%) adjusted by working hours, 2012
Source: OECD estimates based on national labour force surveys.
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Full-time equivalents Raw
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
90
100
Full-time equivalents Raw
Men
Women

9. Long-term unemployment is high
for those above the age of 55
Incidence of long-term unemployment (55+), 2012
As a percentage of unemployed aged 55+
0
10
20
30
40
50
60
70
80
Source: OECD, Working Better with Age, Netherlands – Figure 2.2.

10. The hiring of older workers in the Netherlands is
well below the EU average
Hiring rate by age group, 2012a
Percentages
a) For each age group, employees with job tenure of less than one year as a percentage of all employees.
Source: OECD, Working Better with Age, Netherlands – Figure 2.6.
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
BEL LUX GRC NLD ITA SVN NOR IRL SVK ESP CHE AUT EU PRT FRA DEU GBR CZE EST POL FIN SWE ISL DNK HUN TUR
55-64 25-54

11. Inflows into disability benefits of 55-64s are lower than in 2002
but there is not enough focus on re-entry to work
Inflows into disability benefits between the age of 55 and 64,
by gender, Netherlands, 2002-12
As a percentage of the population in each group
0
0.1
0.2
0.3
0.4
0.5
0.6
0.7
0.8
0.9
1
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011 2012
Men Women Total
Source: OECD, Working Better with Age, Netherlands – Figure 3.2.

12. The Dutch age-wage profile of full-time workers is
steeper than in Denmark, Sweden and the United
Kingdom
Indexes, age 25-29=100, 2010
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
20-24 25-29 30-34 35-39 40-44 45-49 50-54 55-59 60-64
Denmark
Netherlands
United Kingdom
Sweden
Source: OECD Earnings Database.

13. WHAT MORE SHOULD BE DONE IN THE
NETHERLANDS?

14.  In response to the 2005 OECD recommendations, the
Netherlands implemented several substantial policy
initiatives to encourage work at an older age but there
are still challenges
 The aims of the review are to:
 Assess these policy initiatives and their impact on
the employment situation of older workers
 Identify areas where more should be done, covering
both supply-side and demand-side aspects
Working Better With Age: the Netherlands

15. • Promote longer contribution periods in second-pillar
pension schemes and increase flexibility in withdrawal
and combinations of pension and work to encourage
longer careers
• Reduce the maximum duration of UI benefits combined
with better activation of all unemployment benefit
recipients, including for the unemployed over 60 who
are receiving Income Compensation for Older
Unemployed (IOW)
• Keep replacement rates of sickness and disability
benefits below 100%, and give access to wage-
compensation already in the sickness benefit period for
re-entry to new jobs with a lower wage
First area
Improving work incentives

16. • Encourage the social partners to adjust wage setting
procedures by focussing more on performance and less
on tenure and seniority
• Ensure that new practices among innovative firms in the
Sustainable Employability programme are promoted
and progressively become national standards
• Better targeting of measures to reduce cost
disadvantages, increase employability and promote
recruitment of older workers
Second area
Tackling employment barriers on the side
of employers

17. • Link training measures for older unemployed directly to
a specific job
• Tighten co-operation between the Public Employment
Service and the municipalities to increase re-entry to
work for the older unemployed
• Mobilise more fully labour resources by supporting
initiatives to facilitate working on a full-time basis or
longer working hours for part-time workers
Third area
Improving the employability of older workers

18. WORKING BETTER WITH AGE
THE OECD REVIEW

19. The first OECD review on older workers:
Live Longer, Work Longer
 2003-2006 OECD review
 21 country reports (including the Netherlands in 2005):
Ageing and Employment Policies
 And a synthesis report (2006): Live Longer, Work
Longer
 Agenda for policy actions in three broad areas to
encourage work at an older age:
1. Rewarding work
2. Changing employer practices
3. Improving employability

20. • Policy review: recent reforms and measures presented in 21
country notes (situation mid-2012)
http://www.oecd.org/els/employment/olderworkers
• 2013 Employment Outlook: focus on changes in labour
market outcomes for older workers since the start of the global
financial crisis
• Country case studies
– Norway: publication in 2013
– France, Netherlands, Switzerland and Poland:
publications in 2014
– Denmark, Korea and Slovenia: publications in 2015
• Policy synthesis report end-2015
Follow-up review: policy review, empirical
study and country studies

21. Thank you!
For further information
http://www.oecd.org/els/employment/olderworkers