Lawyer: Retirement disputes will increase

Employment expert Ronnie Fox, principal of Fox Lawyers, comments on the government’s announcement to scrap the default retirement age by October 2011:

“At first sight it is illogical and unfair to force workers to retire at an arbitrarily determined age regardless of whether they want to continue working and are capable of continuing to work effectively.

“But the announcement that the default retirement age is to be abolished is not really about logic and fairness. The truth is that the government needs people to work longer for three reasons: first, to reduce the burden of funding state pensions, a burden which is increasing as people live longer; secondly, to keep up income tax and national insurance receipts; and thirdly, because sooner or later the courts are bound to rule that the present statutory provisions are unlawful.

“One unintended consequence is bound to be a major increase in disputes about whether a particular employee is indeed capable of carrying on working. That will generate work for lawyers, create pressure on employment tribunals and damage workplace relationships.”