Forced retirement on the way out
Ministers have confirmed plans to remove the default retirement age completely by October this year.
The decision comes in the face of major opposition from employers, who will no longer be able to force employees to retire when they reach their 65th birthday.
Britain’s ageing population has put pressure on the government to allow people to continue working beyond 65, in order to boost the economy as well as help individuals.
“Older workers can play an incredibly important role in the workplace and it is high time we ended this outdated form of age discrimination,” employment minister Ed Davey said.
“We are putting in place support to help business adapt to the change, but it is important to remember that about two-thirds of employers already operate without fixed retirement ages – and many of those with retirement ages already offer flexibility for workers to work longer.”
The demise of the current regime will prevent employers from issuing compulsory retirement notifications from April 6th this year.
Only those who were notified before that date and whose retirement is slated for before October will be forced to retire.
From October 1st employers will not be able to use the default retirement age to force workers out.
There are some exceptions, however. Employers who can objectively justify retaining the measure – air traffic controllers or police officers, for example – will be allowed to continue the practice.
Guidance from conciliation service Acas has been published which will help employers make sense of the shift.
