National (and international) trends in the employment of older workers show a decline in the economic participation of older people, and especially older men, since the 1970s, and general evidence of age discrimination in the workplace. This case study of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) examines statistical patterns in the fortunes of staff aged 50 years and over in a company with good reason to buck the trends. The BBC is a large, publicly-funded, equal opportunities employer endeavouring to reflect a diverse nation in its staff composition. The research is in two parts. First, we carried out a comparison at five-year intervals of the age profile of the Corporation and observed trends in official retirement at age 60 and the employment of staff working beyond retirement age, from 1978 to 1993. Secondly, an age-related analysis of departures, recruitment and part-time working was undertaken for a 12-month period, from 1992 to 1993.

The research revealed the increasing marginalisation of older workers at the BBC. This accelerated during a period of substantial contraction in the latter part of the 15-year study period and led to an age profile far younger than in other public sectors such as Local Government. Pressures to become ‘lean and efficient’ appeared to have been at the expense of older workers, who were unprotected in the workplace.