Thackray Williams

In the UK, a worker can see their employment end at the age of 65 without any redundancy payment - even if they do not want to retire.

The Heyday case, which began in December 2006 and was brought by charities Age Concern and Help the Aged, argued that the Default Retirement Age (65 years) introduced under the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 fails to interpret an EU directive against age discrimination correctly.

The High Court has however upheld the law that allows UK employers to force workers to retire at the age of 65. Mr Justice Blake decided that the Default Retirement Age introduced by the government in 2006 did comply with an EC Directive against age discrimination.

This has been a long awaited decision with hundreds of employment tribunal claims on hold until this case clarifies the law and will therefore be a disappointing blow for pensioners seeking compensation for discrimination. 

The Government has announced that it is bringing forward a review of the compulsory retirement age by a year to 2010 and both Age Concern and Help the Aged believe that this will eventually lead to a change in the rules.

Employers should be aware that there is a procedure that should be followed in relation to retiring an employee. The practical effect of the regulations is that the following steps are involved in a retirement on or after 1st October 2006:
6-12 months before intended retirement date an employer must give the employee written notice of that date and of the right to request to continue to work after that date;
3-6 months before the intended retirement date the employee can make a written request to continue to work after that date, specifying whether or not this is for a particular period or until a particular date;
if the employee makes a written request as above, a meeting must be held with them to discuss it unless it is simply granted without question.
if the request is granted the employer must remember to put the revised contract terms in writing.

For further information on retirement or age discrimination contact Emma Thompson on 020 8290 0440 or email:emma.thompson@thackraywilliams.com