The population in nearly all European countries is ageing. For example over the
last 25 years, the number of people in the United Kingdom aged 65 and over
increased by 1.5 million.

The workforce of the future is likely to contain a higher proportion of older
workers because of factors such as an ageing population, low average birth
rate, the removal of mandatory retirement ages and raising the state retirement
age.

Many employers acknowledge that older workers have skills, knowledge and
attributes that benefit their business. They have life skills and experience
that enable them to mentor younger colleagues.

The ageing process does mean that there may be certain adjustments employers
need to consider to help older workers enter or remain in employment. These can
often be very simple adjustments such as flexible or part time working, or
adjustments to compensate for a minor reduction in being able to see or hear
clearly.

Risk assessments[3] should be carried out routinely for people of all ages and
considerations for older workers should form part of an employer's routine
assessment. When factoring age into a risk assessment, don't assume that
certain jobs will be too demanding for older workers, base decisions on
capability and objective risk.

More information

AplusA-online.de - Source: Health and Safety Executive