‘Ageist’ employers dump sick people over fifty on the scrap heap

Over-50s with long-term health problems are being left on the scrap heap thanks to ‘age-related assumptions’ by employers, according to a new study.

The Center for Aging Better (CAB) found that people aged 50 to 64 are 60 percent more likely to be unemployed than people aged 35 to 49 in similar circumstances.

That means millions of older workers will face “years of financial uncertainty” before they retire, the report concluded.

It was the latest study to underline Britain’s need to get more over-50s back to work and tackle the rise in the number of ‘economically inactive’ – who are neither in work nor looking for a job .

This is 9.3 million among all people of working age, including 3.6 million between the ages of 50 and 64. The report shows that Britain has much higher rates of inactivity due to illness among the over-50s than Germany, France and Italy.

Closing that gap could add 192,000 workers to the labor market and £13 billion a year to the economy, the study said. The report blamed “widespread age assumptions that underestimate the value of older workers” and a lack of support.

Emily Andrews, deputy director for employment at the CAB, said: ‘Before the pandemic, employment growth was largely driven by increasing the participation of workers aged 50 and over.

‘This trend has stalled and if Labor is to achieve its ambitions of an 80 per cent employment rate, their health and work initiatives will have to work for people in their 50s and 60s.’

Andrews called for an ‘age positive tone’ from the government and the report wants it to set targets including 75 per cent employment for people aged 50 to 64 by 2030.

“It’s not health that’s holding this age group back, it’s the failure of employment support and the fact that (many) employers aren’t giving them the opportunities to contribute fully,” Andrews said.

According to the report, it is a ‘myth’ that older workers with long-term health problems would inevitably be forced to lose their jobs.

Of the 10.75 million people who work with such a condition, more than 40 percent are older than 50, it turned out. CAB chief executive Carole Easton said: ‘Older workers with long-term health conditions are already making a significant contribution. But this can be so much more.’