A ruling by the European Court of Justice (ECJ) has ruled that the UK's compulsory retirement age of 65 is not in breach of EU legislation. Frettens Solicitors employment law specialists advise Dorset organisations that, at the moment, they are still able to retire workers at 65 as long as they carry out the statutory retirement procedure. The case, however, will now return to the UK High Court in order to decide whether these provisions are justified by a legitimate aim.
The case was brought by Age Concern, who maintained that the government policy breaches the EU's Equal Treatment at Work Directive.
Employment Associate at Frettens Solicitors, Kate Fretten, comments “While this means that an organisation can dismiss a member of staff without redundancy payments on that person's 65th birthday, existing employment equality regulations do give employees the right to formally request to carry on working beyond 65.”
Kate continues “Whether employers agree with this ruling or not, we would advise any organisation to judge their employees on their skills and abilities rather than their age, or any other potentially discriminatory factor. Challenging financial circumstances mean it may become more important for older workers to be able to choose to work longer if they want to.”
Frettens’ Employment Team specialises in all aspects of contentious and non-contentious employment law, offering practical, common-sense advice which balances the commercial realities of running a business with legal requirements. For further information on this area or any other employment issue, contact Kate Fretten on 01202 499255.