Older workers in London may face a future of unemployment and life on benefits as many struggles to find jobs after the furlough scheme ends.

The proportion of older people on furlough has been steadily increasing this year, with one in three people on furlough are over 50. Estimates show that 630,000 people in the UK aged over 50 are still on furlough and waiting to find out if they have a job to go back to. This is on top of the 568,000 over-50s currently claiming job-seeking or out-of-work benefits. ( https://restless.co.uk/press/one-in-three-people-still-on-furlough-are-aged-50-or-older/)

One in Three People Still on Furlough Are Aged 50 Or Older – Rest LessStuart Lewis, Founder of Rest Less, commented: “The country is reopening, and the total number of people on furlough is falling quickly – by three million since the beginning of the year. However, the recovery is clearly not working for everyone, with more than 630,000 people aged over 50 still on furlough and waiting to find out if they have a job to go back to.restless.co.uk

We may expect to see a wave of redundancies affecting older workers given age discrimination by some employers.

The risk is that many older workers will be forced to dip into retirement savings leading to reductions in retirement income in future years.

Wise Age is lobbying the GLA and other policy makers in London to provide more bespoke training and support for older workers at the threat of redundancy to help them with skills and confidence in getting jobs.