Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+

Flexible workingRetirementPart-time working

Employers encouraged to do more to support older workers

by Ashleigh Webber 25 Jan 2018
by Ashleigh Webber 25 Jan 2018 The ageing workforce was a key future health and wellbeing issue debate by Dame Carol Black and Dr Justin Varney at Health & Wellbeing @ Work
The ageing workforce was a key future health and wellbeing issue debate by Dame Carol Black and Dr Justin Varney at Health & Wellbeing @ Work

With a record number of people aged 50 or older in employment, the Government and employers should ensure that working practices cater for the needs of older people, according to an age awareness charity.

The Centre for Ageing Better said employers should make sure they support older workers to help them enjoy a fulfilling career for longer, utilise their skills and help them save for retirement.

Its comments came as the Office for National Statistics (ONS) revealed that more than 10 million people aged 50 or older were in employment between September and November 2017, accounting for almost a third (31%) of the national workforce.

Older workers

Top tips on avoiding discrimination when managing older workers

Sickness absence: plan now for the ageing workforce

Dr Anna Dixon, chief executive of the Centre for Ageing Better, said supporting older workers to remain in employment is “critical to economic growth and to meeting the country’s future labour market needs”.

She said: “Employers need to recognise the value of their growing older workforce and ensure that their working cultures and practices are inclusive and don’t disadvantage older workers.

“This means giving access to flexible working patterns and workplace adjustments for those with health needs or caring responsibilities, ensuring older workers have the same opportunities for learning and career progression, and tackling age bias in recruitment.”

Despite 71.5% of people aged 50-65 being in work, the Centre for Ageing Better claimed that around one million older people were “involuntarily workless”, meaning they were out of work for a range of reasons including redundancy, caring responsibilities or ill health.

Sign up to our weekly round-up of HR news and guidance

Receive the Personnel Today Direct e-newsletter every Wednesday

OptOut
This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.

According to a study led by University of Birmingham Business School, workers who identified as professionals were more likely to continue working in a part-time role than retire completely, though not for financial gain. Those with “disjointed” careers, with periods in and out of work, were likely to continue working after retirement age in some capacity, such as self-employment, because they did not see retirement as an option.

ONS analysis of gender pay gap data last week found that the pay gap peaks in the age 50-59 bracket, which it suggested was due to women taking a break from their careers to have children and allowing men to “accumulate more experience”.

Ashleigh Webber

Ashleigh is a former editor of OHW+ and former HR and wellbeing editor at Personnel Today. Ashleigh's areas of interest include employee health and wellbeing, equality and inclusion and skills development. She has hosted many webinars for Personnel Today, on topics including employee retention, financial wellbeing and menopause support.

previous post
Supporting employees with sleep problems: the evidence base
next post
First pay awards of 2018 show promise at 2.5%

You may also like

HSBC employees warned of office attendance link to...

22 May 2025

Workers ‘wait and see’ as companies struggle to...

16 May 2025

Four ways employers can reduce the risk of...

14 May 2025

TPT to launch multi-employer CDC pension scheme

12 May 2025

Senior execs at BlackRock to work in office...

8 May 2025

Millions at risk of retiring under-pensioned

30 Apr 2025

Post-pandemic starters seek more pay for on-site working

10 Apr 2025

Fifth of flexible working requests denied one year...

7 Apr 2025

Employers struggling to manage rising levels of sickness...

7 Apr 2025

Part-time lecturer treated less favourably

7 Apr 2025

  • 2025 Employee Communications Report PROMOTED | HR and leadership...Read more
  • The Majority of Employees Have Their Eyes on Their Next Move PROMOTED | A staggering 65%...Read more
  • Prioritising performance management: Strategies for success (webinar) WEBINAR | In today’s fast-paced...Read more
  • Self-Leadership: The Key to Successful Organisations PROMOTED | Eletive is helping businesses...Read more
  • Retaining Female Talent: Four Ways to Reduce Workplace Drop Out PROMOTED | International Women’s Day...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2025

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2025 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Maternity & paternity
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • Brightmine
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Free trial
    • Request a quote
  • Webinars
  • Advertise
  • OHW+