Data from the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has shown that the number of people aged 70 or older who are still in work has doubled in a decade to almost 500,000 people.
The first quarter of 2019 saw a peak of 497,946 over-70s in either full or part-time employment, according to the ONS. The figure represents a 135 per cent increase in the number of over-70s in work over the last 10 years.
The figures also showed that a twelfth of septuagenarians are working, in contrast to just one in 22 a decade ago.
The figures have prompted to Centre for Ageing Better to call on employers to take greater account of the needs of older workers.
Patrick Thompson, Senior Programme Manager at the Centre for Ageing Better, said: “As we all live longer lives, more of us want to work for longer. To do that, we need fulfilling jobs which give us a sense of meaning, help us keep vital social connections, and provide us with financial stability as we age.
“With fewer younger people starting work to place those set to retire in future years, uncertainty over Brexit, and worsening skills and labour shortages, it’s vital that employers wake up and adopt age-friendly practices like flexible working to enable people to work for as long as they want.
“The face of Britain’s workforce is changing dramatically. We can’t afford to ignore our older workers.”
Samantha Randall, a Solicitor with Palmers, who specialises in employment law, said: “It is also important to remember that as a protected characteristics and, under the Equality Act 2010 an employee must not be treated any differently on the grounds of age.
“At one time, employers were be able to force workers to retire at 65 but this law was overturned in April 2011.
“There are still a few occupations where the new rules do not apply, for example where an individual is required to have a certain level of mental or physical ability or a specific job role has an upper age limit set by other legislation.
“Employers still have the right to make redundancies and dismiss an older employee if they are underperforming, but these decisions need to be based on objective standards and not as a result of an individual’s age alone.”
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