Latest Legal News - Proposed Abolition of the Default Mandatory Retirement Age (September 2010)

The government has indicated that it intends to abolish the default retirement age of 65 from October 2011.  This would give employees 65 and over the same job security as younger employees as employers would no longer be able to force employees to retire at 65.

Without a default retirement age, rather than following the statutory retirement procedure, an employer that wishes to retire an employee would need to follow a fair procedure under the ordinary unfair dismissal rules and show that dismissal of an older employee was for one of the potentially fair reasons for dismissal.  These include performance, redundancy and conduct.  It is thought that one of the effects will be an increase in employment litigation and that employers could face the double threat of age discrimination and unfair dismissal claims from employees who have been compulsorily retired.

As a result, it will become more important for employers to monitor the performance and efficiency of older employees and to implement proper performance management procedures so that, where necessary, employees can be dismissed on grounds of capability/conduct. 

There's also an argument that the changes risk damaging the supportive culture within a company and may prevent older employees from having a dignified exit from employment.

The proposed abolition therefore appears to have negative results for both employers and employees.

Steps for employers to take now:

• respond to the government's consultation document at https://www.surveymonkey.com/s/2VWVDND ;
• diarise 6^th April 2001 as the date from which it is proposed that no further retirement notices can be issued under the current statutory retirement process;
• diarise October 2011 as the date from which the default retirement age of 65 is abolished;
• review current performance management procedures and documentation, implement regular performance reviews and record the results;
• seek legal advice when faced with performance issues with older workers or when wishing to dismiss.

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