Dissertation_Paula Aleksandrowicz_12 ... - Jacobs University

and on the other side, externalisation, the emerging patterns being ´negative reaction´,
´positive reaction´ and ´no reaction´ (Hinrichs/Aleksandrowicz 2005: 44-45).
A ´negative reaction´ to institutional changes will denote an adaptation pattern which
entails the externalisation of older workers, be it by the development of new early exit
options or by prolongation of ATZ at firm level. A ´positive reaction´ encompasses policies
which open the way for the increased hiring of older workers, which close existing early
exit pathways, and which adapt working conditions and overall personnel policy to the
demands of an ageing workforce. ´No reaction´ denotes the preservation of status quo, and
policies of ´wait and see´.
The singular reform elements generated divergent adaptation patterns in the firms. The
assessment will therefore proceed from one reform element to the other.
The missing impact of incentives for the hiring and qualification of older workers was
already described in the preceding sub-section on recruitment policy, and is in line with
evaluation results of active labour market measures (BmAS 2006b: xviii-xix).
The impact of the anti-discrimination legislation was limited to singular adaptations in
some firms, like the non-discriminatory formulation of job ads or the passing of antidiscriminatory
rules of conduct. Neither managers nor works council members have
perceived an incompatibility of the ubiquitous regulation that the work contract ends upon
reaching 65 years or upon reaching the “standard retirement age” with the antidiscrimination
legislation. At best, it was planned at the time of my second interview to
consult possible problematic areas arising from the new law between management and
works council.
The changed rules of social selection in cases of dismissals for operational reasons
(´high performers´ may be exempted from the social selection, and the limited job prospects
of older workers do not have to be considered) have had almost no impact on the studied
firms due to the avoidance of dismissals ´for operational reasons´. Only the chairmen of the
works council in singular firms associated the new law with a higher risk of older workers
with low qualifications to be dismissed.
Stricter rules for granting disability pensions have not led to higher retention rates of
impaired workers in the studied firms (although in one case, the works council is becoming
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