mid-life workers

7 in 10 (68%) people out of work aged 50 to 64 would like to work, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) has revealed (24 September 2026). Around 866,000 people aged 50 to 64 are out of work but are either looking for work or would like to work.

As we know age discrimination first became illegal in October 2006. Hiring and retaining mid-life and over-50s workers is one of the most significant structural challenges facing the UK labour market. While over 10.5 million people over 50 are currently in work, making up roughly a third of the workforce, systemic barriers prevent hundreds of thousands more from securing employment.

The primary challenges in recruiting and hiring over-50s workers in the UK break down into cultural, operational, and physical health barriers:

  1. Cultural Barriers & Recruitment Bias
  • Systemic Ageism: Ageism is widely cited by HR experts as a massive hurdle, yet it frequently lags behind other diversity and inclusion priorities. A significant portion of over-50s job seekers feel their age works against them, with 40% citing direct ageism as a primary barrier to recruitment.
  • Exclusionary Recruitment Language: Job adverts frequently feature subtly ageist language. Code words like “energetic,” “tech-savvy,” “digital native,” or “recent graduate” alienate older candidates who have the core competencies but do not fit a youthful corporate stereotype.
  • The “Overqualified” Trap: Recruiters often filter out mid-life candidates under the assumption that they will demand too much money, find the work unchallenging, or refuse to report to managers who are younger than them. The irony is many of them are ready to accept a lesser role to achieve a better work life balance.
  1. Operational & Technological Hurdles
  • Algorithmic Bias: Modern hiring relies heavily on automated applicant tracking systems (ATS) and AI screening toolkits. These systems frequently discard candidates based on lengthy employment histories, gaps on CVs, or graduation dates. This has led some UK applicants to adopt “CV botoxing”—scrubbing dates and older roles from their history to pass early automated screenings.
  • Shift to Digital-Only Portals: Relying exclusively on niche social media channels and complex virtual application portals creates a technical barrier for older candidates who may be highly qualified but prefer traditional, direct networking avenues.
  1. Health, Wellness, & The “Sandwich Generation”
  • Long-Term Sickness and NHS Backlogs: Health issues are a massive driver of economic inactivity for this group. DWP figures show that over 580,000 people aged 50–64 want to work but cannot, with nearly two-thirds forced out of the market due to chronic illness or disability.
  • Caring Responsibilities: Mid-life workers are frequently part of the “sandwich generation,” facing double-sided pressures to care for elderly parents or partners while supporting adult children. Roughly one-fifth of workers aged 45+ expect they may have to exit their roles prematurely to manage these caring duties or finance the cost of care.
  1. Rigid Work Practices
  • Lack of Meaningful Flexibility: Close to 75% of over-50s actively look for flexible working arrangements, such as job-sharing, part-time hours, or remote work. Despite legislative pushes toward day-one flexible working rights in the UK, many employers remain resistant to offering the highly adaptable setups required to accommodate health adjustments or caregiving schedules.

How Progressive UK Employers Are Adapting

To tap into this vital talent pool, organisations are adopting strategies to attract mid-life workers

  • The Age-Friendly Employer Pledge: Companies explicitly commit to age-diverse hiring and tracking the progression rates of older applicants.
  • Blind & Skills-Based Recruitment: Removing names, ages, and historic dates from CVs—or eliminating standard CV reviews entirely—to evaluate candidates strictly on transferable skills and role potential.
  • Mid-Life MOTs: Implementing structural workplace check-ins that evaluate an employee’s wealth, health, and career trajectory to align job designs with their changing lives.

Summary

After 42 years in recruitment, I would argue that this talent pool may lack digital/technical knowledge but often excel in building relationships, customer service and communicating with an audience. For that reason, a business needs a mix of young career professionals and mid life workers who bring a diverse range of skills and experience to the table!