End of Default Retirement Age confirmed

Chris, The only comment I could add to your question is to offer the older employees and substantial pay settlement to cover the cost of living until their retirement age is up.

But I don't think too many employees would do that in reality, and it also leaves you open to accusations of age discrimination.

Personally, I agree with Mark there are many older employees with lots to offer, and not every old employee is past it when it comes to working. I would agree that they will become physically weaker and slower, but then again that is going to be where the younger employers have an advantage.

Placement of people in a role that suits their abilities is what this is all about.

Several points Chris, firstly not sure what's wrong with 70 and 75 year olds provided they can still do the job, they tend to be more trustworthy and reliable than some of the 'New blood". Equally I would hazard a guess that few people of retirement age want to go on working upto 75 anyway. I don't think in practice we will have a majority of senior workers but I do welcome this decision that retirement should not be enforced. Maturity brings a great deal of benefits to any organisation.

I really sympathise with the older generation who are forced to work later than 65 who have been let down by successive governments regarding pensions provision. But i'm delighted for those people who are more than capable and want to continue to work past 65.

My point Chris is that most people will want to retire at the first reasonable opportunity so those people still working upto 70 or beyond will be a minority doing it for personal reasons and you won't get many more dedicated people than them.

Taken from ACAS
Removal of Default Retirement Age
Where an employee decides not to retire and no notice has been given, the first thing to do is to discuss with the employee their reason for not retiring. This can help to establish whether there is any problem that you, as an employer, might be able to help them overcome thus allowing them to retire on the due date or shortly thereafter. Ultimately however, if they decide that they do not wish to retire, for whatever reason, then you cannot compulsorily retire them as this will leave you open to a complaint of unfair dismissal.

Does anyone have any ideas on how to avoid an office / workplace full of 70/75 yr olds and no new blood entering the workforce. I can only see that OPP and Medical grounds are left, I am trying to see it from both sides of the fence (I'm not trying to offend)

Regards

Chris

David

Click on the panel above the start of the post, which will open the main news report, informative links to ACAS embedded in the news report, download the ACAS onfo which will help you understand current guidlines

William

I cannot find the exact date that the rules on the DRA change. If an employee attains the age of 65 in October is he or she still subject to the old rules and do they need to be notified prior to that?
Can anyone point to the location of the information?

The Labour government plundered the pension funds and previous governments did nothing to ensure that pensions were being funded sufficiently to allow people to have a secure retirement, people will have no option but to work past the age of 65. This does not happen anywhere else in europe where the average pension is 72% of their final salery.