Disabled older workers often experience ‘double prejudice’ in the workplace, leaving them at greater risk of exclusion and missed opportunities compared to their peers, a survey by charity Centre for Ageing Better has revealed.

The research found almost half (44 per cent) of disabled people aged 50 to 66 had experienced negative treatment when applying for jobs or promotions in the past five years, compared to 25 per cent of non-disabled people in the same age group.

Most (69 per cent) respondents felt being older was a disadvantage in the UK job market, while three quarters (75 per cent) thought having a disability or a health condition put applicants at a disadvantage, the study of 1,017 UK adults found.

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Rebecca Lines, project and change manager for work at the Centre for Ageing Better, said the UK labour market was “failing” older disabled people.

“Disabled older workers told our researchers how they are navigating a constant minefield, weighing up whether to declare health conditions, how to ask for adjustments and how to present themselves in a labour market that often overlooks them or undervalues them,” she said, explaining that this takes a toll on confidence, wellbeing and long-term health. 

Impact of employers overlooking disabled older employees

James Taylor, director of strategy at disability equality charity Scope, agreed, adding that disabled people’s skills and talents were regularly “overlooked” by employers, which he said contributed to lower employment levels.

“This means it is much harder for disabled people to get into, stay in and progress in work. It’s why the disability employment gap – the comparative employment rate for disabled and non-disabled people – has been stuck at around 30 percentage points for more than a decade,” he said.

Closing this gap among older workers would bring around 192,000 more people into the labour market, generating an estimated £13bn in gross domestic product (GDP) a year and £2.5bn in additional income tax and national insurance revenues, the report found. 

The unemployment rate for those with disabilities was 6.9 per cent in Q2 2024, compared to 3.6 per cent for non-disabled people, according to the Department for Work and Pensions.

Benefits of staying in work

Despite higher unemployment rates among disabled people, keeping older employees boosts GDP, expands the talent pool for employers and supports their wellbeing. 

Research from Bupa found so-called ‘un-retirees’ said re-entering the workforce had given them a stronger sense of purpose (36 per cent), improved wellbeing (26 per cent) and improved physical health (19 per cent). 

Half (50 per cent) of respondents said they believed working past retirement age would help keep their brains active. 

Steps for employers 

While remaining in work has proven health benefits, employers that overlooked disabled older workers were “significantly limiting the pool of talent available to them”, said Diane Lightfoot, CEO of Business Disability Forum. 

“Employers need to make sure their HR teams and line managers have a good understanding of what disability is and the support that disabled people and people with long-term conditions may need in the workplace,” she said, adding that all candidates should be offered adjustments from the recruitment process to onboarding. 

“Many conditions change and fluctuate over time, and so adjustments need to reflect this,” Lightfoot continued, so organisations must avoid making assumptions about disability. 

Taylor added that many companies still resisted making the changes needed to help disabled people access and stay in work. “We urge businesses to embrace flexible working, and work with disabled people on how the organisation can improve. For example, introducing reverse mentoring schemes, where disabled colleagues can share their expertise and guidance directly with senior leaders,” he said. 

Taylor added that collecting and reporting on disability data was also crucial to ensure accountability and show disabled applicants your business is serious about improving.

For more information, read the CIPD’s bitesize research on workplace disability discrimination