65 years old?

Some employers still believe they can automatically retire staff at 65

Forced retirement

I receive a number of questions regarding retirement.

Some employers are still under the misguided view that they can retire staff at the age of 65, but the law in respect of retirement changed significantly some time ago. In October 2006 the Government introduced the default retirement age of 65, at the same time it brought in legislation preventing people being discriminated against on account of their age.

However, it all changed in 2011 when a dismissal which is based on a person’s age became unlawful direct age discrimination, unless it could be justified (which is a very high hurdle to overcome), or it could be established that being below a certain age was an occupational requirement.

An employer can no longer regard 65 as the normal age at which to retire its employees, and if it does so, it will have to show objective justification for dismissing at this age or any other age for retirement for that matter.

This is hugely important