There are many benefits for employers hiring older workers and they are now being realised (The Argus, July 8).

The older worker has had to endure ageism for far too long and, in many cases, his or her vital skills and knowledge have been lost to the jobs market.

The Government is now to introduce legislation to outlaw age discrimination and the mandatory retirement age is to be scrapped.

Many employers are now moving towards a flexible retirement age. Tesco, Barclays, Asda, and B&Q are among the leading companies to introduce this scheme.

Tesco employs a number of people over 80.

For a number of years, B&Q has been well known for employing older workers and their oldest employee is 90.

Older workers have a lot to offer and Asda are encouraging more mature applicants to apply for vacancies that are available in its stores.

This is a step in the right direction but the choice of when people retire must remain with the individual.

-Steve Fuller, Hove