Supermarket chain Sainsbury’s is launching an ambitious recruitment drive to attract 10,000 older workers.

The company will use a combination of print media and online recruitment routes to attract these ‘mature colleagues’, who will be exclusively over 50. The aim is to attract the 10,000 quota in time for Christmas, traditionally the busiest time of the year in terms of sales.

In order to attract mature staff, Sainsbury’s will offer flexible contracts, including the option to only work during term-time so workers can spend time with their families during school holidays.

But Mike Saunders, founder of Wrinklies Direct, an agency that specialises in placing older workers, warned that the supermarket could have trouble finding such a high number of candidates.

“Many of the people I come across through my agency have chosen early retirement and want to work on their terms,” he told Recruiter. “They’re semi-professional and want to do two or three days a week, so the problem is finding vacancies that meet their expectations. They’re not interested in shelf-stacking.”