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EJRA Review Working Group

EJRA ReviewOpen meetings: gathering feedback

October / November 2016


Open meetings

• Professor Irene Tracey (Review Committee Chair),

and members of the Review Group

• One-hour session: 15 minutes of input and 45

minutes of feedback, questions and comment

• Presentation will be put on EJRA website at:

www.ox.ac.uk/ejrareview

• Please provide written feedback to:

[email protected]


What is the EJRA?

• The Employer-Justified Retirement Age, or EJRA, is a

retirement age of 30 September before the 68th

birthday that is specific to employees at Oxford

• It applies to academic and academic-related staff ie

those in grade 6 and above

• Those who wish to work beyond 67 can apply for an

extension, which will be granted only if they meet

certain criteria; any decision not to grant an

extension can be appealed

• The EJRA does NOT relate to pension age


History of the EJRA at Oxford

• Introduced in October 2011, after abolition of default retirement age,

following two consultations with Congregation and discussion with the

UCU – put in place for ten years, with a review after five

• Scheme reviewed and changed in 2015 to take account of comments by

the University Appeal Court in 2014:

• Clarified Aims

• Reordered and revised criteria for considering applications for

extensions

• Revised procedures for the submission and consideration of

applications for extensions


The legal position of the EJRA

• Age discrimination legislation is different from other

equality provisions in that direct age discrimination (eg the

maintenance of a retirement age) can be justified if it is a

proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim.

• The EJRA is a proportionate means of achieving the Aims

set out in the EJRA policy.


What are the Aims of the EJRA?

The EJRA is considered to be an appropriate and necessary

means of creating vacancies to meet the Aims, which are:• safeguarding high standards in teaching, research and professional services;

• promoting inter-generational fairness and maintaining opportunities for

career progression;

• refreshing the academic, research and other professional workforce;

• facilitating succession planning by maintaining predictable retirement dates;

• promoting equality and diversity;

• facilitating flexibility in the academic-related workforce; and,

• minimising the impact on staff morale by using retirement to manage any

future financial cuts or constraints by retiring staff at the EJRA.


Review Committee’s terms of reference

The working party has been tasked with considering the following, at the point when the EJRA has been in operation for five years:

• the extent to which the EJRA is meeting the Aims identified when the policy was established, and thus can be justified in law;

• whether the EJRA is appropriately set at the 30 September before an individual’s 68th birthday; and

• whether the policy is applied to the right staff groups.

The group will take account of:• internal data, including diversity data; • information about other higher education institutions in the UK and abroad; • legal advice; and• the views of stakeholders from across the University, including recent

retirees.


Data summary: exceptions process

In the last three complete years, 2012-15:

• 264 people have retired from the University’s employment, and

• 152 have applied for extended employment of which

• 138 (91%) have been accepted, in whole or in part (nb revised procedures apply from 1 October 2015)

• c. 30% from each of MSD and SSD, c. 20% from each of Humanities and MPLS – very few from GLAM or UAS

• c.23% from women


Data summary: creation of vacancies

In the last three complete years, 2012-15, the % of posts vacated that were vacated by retirement was:

• 56% for statutory professors

• 50% for associate professors

• 41% for RSIVs (the most senior research grade)

• 1.7% for academic and research staff in grades 6-10

• 12.1% for administrative and professional staff


Comments?

Questions?

Don’t forget that you can also send your comments and feedback to:

[email protected]


The slides that follow were not used in the main presentation but to assist in responding to specific questions.


Relevant UK legislation

The main pieces of UK legislation governing retirement are:

• The Employment Rights Act 1996

• The Equality Act 2010

• The Employment Equality (Repeal of Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations 2011.


Criteria for extensions

It is expected that:

• any applicant who occupies an academic post or other permanent post will vacate that post and move to a fixed-term contract on an appropriate grade; and

• the applicant will identify all possible means of supporting their salary and other costs.

In all but very rare cases, applications will only be approved where grant or other funding covers the employment costs.

This is to ensure that there is no financial detriment to the University and no impediment to the refilling of the post.


Criteria for extensions

The EJRA Committee considers the following:

• Is there a need to complete a specific project or duties, or to

gain the benefit of tasks already completed, which are of

strategic importance and could not be completed by anyone

else, on a non-employed basis, or on a shorter contract?

• Will the proposed extension result in the creation of career

development opportunities for others?

• Is there a demonstrable need that arises in connection with a

specific event or circumstance and that could only be met by

retaining this particular employee in employment?

• Are there stakeholder views eg from a college or the NHS, or

any special personal circumstances, to be taken into account?


Who else has an EJRA?

• Universities:

• Cambridge: EJRA of 67 since 2012

• St Andrews

• Many European HEIs (eg in France, Germany, Italy)

• The Ministry of Justice operates an EJRA of 70 for

judges

• Some law firms operate an EJRA of 60 or 65


Who is on the Working Group?

• Professor Irene Tracey, Medical Sciences Division (chair)

• Professor Sandra Fredman, Social Sciences Division

• Professor Gideon Henderson, MPLS Division

• Professor Lyndal Roper, Humanities Division

• Mr Richard Ovenden, GLAM

• Dr Ali Rogers, Conference of Colleges Senior Tutors’ Committee

• Professor Jeremias Prassl, Conference of Colleges Legal Panel

• Dr Rebecca Surender, PVC and Advocate for Diversity

• Dr Saira Shaikh, Divisional Secretary, MPLS Division

• Four members of Council elected by Congregation: Dr Kate Blackmon,

Professor Helen McShane, Professor Lionel Tarassenko, Dr Ian Watson


Detail for 2014-15

In 2014/15, of the 49 applicants:

• 44 (90%) were successful – 8 of those (18%) in part only• 13 (27%) were from women• 18 (37%) held academic posts, 26 (53%) held research posts,

and 5 (10%) held other academic-related posts• 14 (32%) applied to move into part-time posts• 7 (16%) of the 18 academics applied to vacate their substantive

posts and move to specially created, fixed-term posts• The length of extensions varied from 3 to 60 months (most in

the range 12-24 months).


Proportion of applications by division

In 2012-15, the proportion of applications by division is (proportion of total staff subject to the EJRA in brackets)

• Medical Sciences Division – 30% (40%)• MPLS – 17% (19%)• Social Sciences Division – 29% (12%)• Humanities – 20% (7%)• GLAM – 2% (9%)• UAS – 3% (13%)


Proportion of applications by role type

Of the 49 applicants in 2014-15:

• 9 (18%) held chairs (statutory professors comprise 2.5% of the relevant population)

• 9 (18%) held other academic posts (compared to 15% of the relevant population)

• 26 (53%) held research posts (compared to 51% of the relevant population)

• 5 (10%) held other academic-related posts (compared to 31% of the relevant population)


Data: exceptions process

Sought

extension at

65-67

Retired at

65-67

Sought

extension in

advance ie

before they

were 65

Sought

further

extension ie

after age 67

Total sought

extension

(no. and %

successful)

Total retired at

any age (incl.

those who

applied

unsuccessfully

for extension)

2012-13 16 44 7 32 55 (49 – 89%) 81

2013-14 22 33 7 19 48 (45 – 94%) 89

2014-15 35 53 7 7 49 (44 – 90%) 94

Total 73 130 21 58 152 (138 –

(91%)

264


Data: exceptions process – applications by

gender and division

Medical

SciencesMPLS

Social

Sciences

Humani

tiesGLAM UAS Total

%

female

2012

/139 12 17 14 1 2 55 25.5%

2013

/1415 6 16 9 1 1 48 16.6%

2014

/1521 8 11 7 1 1 49 28.9%

Total 45 26 44 30 3 4 152 23.0%

% 29.6% 17.3% 28.9% 19.7% 2.0% 2.6% 100% -

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