COMPANIES should offer re-employment contracts to employees of retirement age who are medically fit and have performed satisfactorily, a set of draft guidelines have proposed.

The workers should be kept in their current positions, with reasonable adjustments to their duties or salaries if necessary, or redeployed to different jobs on new terms.

And companies should start discussions with employees at least one year before they hit the current retirement age of 62.

These are some terms in the proposed Tripartite Guidelines on the Re-employment of Older Workers that were drafted with feedback from employers and unions.

They were released yesterday for the public to give its feedback, via the Reach portal (www.reach.gov.sg), by Dec 18.

The finalised guidelines are expected to be released early next year. They will help companies adhere to re-employment legislation, expected to be introduced in 2012.

Manpower Minister Gan Kim Yong said yesterday: "With one in five residents aged 65 and older by 2030, companies will have to include more older workers in their company workforce profile. The sooner companies put in place the process and systems for re-employment, the better positioned they will be to meet the challenges ahead."

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