Default retirement age set for retirement?
Despite September's decision by an Advocate general - a senior legal adviser to the European Court of Justice - that UK employers have a right to insist that employees retire at 65, the Employers Forum on Age (EFA) is still calling on the government to scrap the default retirement age (DRA) from 2011. If the government agrees, forced retirement will soon be consigned to history.
According to EFA Director Catherine Pusey, the change would mean that employers would no longer be able to insist that their employees retire at 65 without the prospect of facing tribunal claims.
As she says, "It's not just attitudes to working beyond 65 that need to change - the fiscal reality is that the UK economy can no longer afford a culture of early retirement, as many individuals will have a third of their lives ahead of them as they receive their first pension cheque."
Her argument is not a purely financial one, however. One of the EFA's responsibilities is to help employers gain from harnessing the experience of older workers. "As working lives get longer, an important part of the work we are doing is to ensure that our members understand age legislation in all its intricacies and benefit from having an age-diverse workforce," she adds.
Any business wishing to know more about the current rights of older people in the workforce should talk to an employment lawyer.
Contact
Judith Ellery Head of Employment
Bethan Southcombe Solicitor
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