Age-friendly Employer Pledge culture toolkit
This toolkit has been created to help organisations look at their existing workplace culture and how this could become more Age-friendly.
Age-friendly culture: understanding and changing what you do
This toolkit helps organisations examine their workplace culture and take practical steps to make it genuinely age-friendly – for all workers, not just those whose experiences have historically been centred.
What is workplace culture and why does it need examining?
Culture shapes everything that happens in a workplace: how decisions are made, who is heard, who is supported, and who is left behind. It includes the written policies on your intranet and the unwritten rules that everyone quietly understands. Both matter.
A common shorthand is that culture is simply "how we do things around here". That is a useful starting point – but it’s not enough. Describing what an organisation does, doesn’t tell you whether what it does is fair.
Workplace cultures are not neutral. They reflect the assumptions, priorities, and power structures of those who shaped them. In many organisations, that means cultures were built around a narrow set of experiences – typically those of people who are white, non-disabled, male, and on a conventional career path. Workers whose lives do not fit that pattern often find that the culture does not fit them either.
The Baroness McGregor-Smith Review (2017) found discrimination and bias at every stage of an individual's career in UK workplaces – and even before it begins. Employment rates for people from Black and minority ethnic backgrounds were more than 12 percentage points lower than for white workers, despite those workers being more likely to hold a degree.
The TUC's No Worker Left Behind report (2026) found that despite greater awareness of racial inequality in recent years, many Black workers still encounter hostile workplace cultures, structural barriers to progression and unsafe working conditions.
Culture change is not about adding new policies on top of existing ones. It requires examining what your culture is built on – and being willing to change the foundations where they exclude people.
What does an age-friendly culture look like?
An age-friendly culture is one where people in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond feel genuinely included, heard, and able to contribute. That means more than not discriminating against older workers, it means actively creating conditions where they are valued and supported.
An age-friendly culture must account for this. It cannot be built on a single, universal model of what an older worker looks like or what they need. The workers who most need support are often those least well served by a one-size approach.
Culture change needs more than good intentions
Many organisations have good intentions. They have diversity policies, employee networks, and leadership statements about inclusion. But those good intentions do not automatically produce good outcomes, especially for those whose experiences have historically been overlooked.
We can see structural inequalities in the workplace often operates through practices that feel routine and normal – because they are. This is why culture change must be active, not passive. It is not enough to stop doing obviously harmful things. Organisations need to ask, for every practice and system: whose needs shaped this? Who does it serve well? Who does it fail?
For older workers, the questions include:
- Are recruitment practices screening out older candidates, explicitly or through language and norms about 'culture fit'?
- Are development and training opportunities genuinely available to workers at all ages and at all levels?
- Are line managers equipped to have honest, supportive conversations with older workers – including those from communities where such conversations may feel particularly high-risk?
- Are the health, financial, and career support services signposted through programmes like this one relevant to the actual diversity of your workforce?
- Are flexible working policies accessible in practice to lower-paid and non-desk-based workers, not just senior office staff?
How to use this toolkit
The toolkit is organised around the touchpoints that most shape workplace culture. You do not need to work through them in order – start where it feels most relevant, or where you think your organisation has the most to gain.
A self-assessment checklist is available to help you identify priorities. An action planning template helps you translate what you find into concrete next steps.
Culture toolkit topics
The toolkit is organised by the different touchpoints that shape culture within an organisation. You can start anywhere that feels most relevant, or where you think you might make the biggest impact. There is a checklist that you can use as a diagnostic, and an action plan to help you think about your priorities and where you might start.
Leadership
For senior leaders and anyone driving change on age equality. Covers how leaders set the tone and whether age-friendly culture is embedded in strategy.
Policy and processes
For HR teams and those developing people management tools. Covers how written and unwritten rules can include or exclude older workers.
Internal communications
For communications teams and managers. Covers how organisations talk about age, who is represented, and what messages are sent.
Line management
For anyone who manages people in their 40s, 50s, 60s and beyond. Covers the skills and conversations that make the biggest difference to older workers.
Individuals
For any employee who wants to take action. Covers what individuals can do and what they should be able to expect from their organisation.
Explore the toolkit
Where to start
You can begin with any of the following:
Watching
A short film exploring how line managers can support colleagues in their 50s, 60s and beyond – and what good practice looks like across different workplace contexts.
Understanding
Understanding how you, as an individual, can make your workplace more age-friendly
Reading
Reading the case for older workers, which outlines the benefits workers in their 50s, 60s and beyond bring to the workplace.
Finding out
Finding out more about ageism in the workplace — what it is, how it shows up and the effect it has.