Over 50 and fabulous? WE THINK SO!

Historically, the over 50s age bracket has been under-represented in the hospitality industry, however it represents untapped potential which can help fix the industry’s staffing issues. With an additional one million workers over the age of 50 in the UK workforce by 2025* attracting this age group into the sector will become increasingly important.

National pub chain J D Wetherspoon, recognised as a Top Employer for the 18th time by the Top Employers Institute, encourages recruitment of all ages for all roles and works with Rest Less, the UK’s digital community for the over 50s. Michelle Crooke, Recruitment and Qualifications Manager says, “Many over 50s were typically in long term employment and many chose to take early retirement or redundancy during the pandemic and sadly many lost their jobs. There is an audience available to hospitality that wasn’t previously there.”

Groobarbs Field Kitchen restaurant in Cheshire has a diverse team of all ages. David Fryer, co-founder says, “It sounds like a cliché to say we’ve built a family, but I can’t think of a better way of describing it. Everyone brings something different to the table and that benefits everyone. We have several people over 50 working in front of house and in Groobox, our veg box delivery business. The individuals were new to the industry and trained from scratch.”