High Court judge supports retirement age change
High Court challenge fails but judge supports the need for
change
25 I 09 I 2009
The need to review the
current retirement age for UK employees is given a boost after the
law that allows employers to force workers to retire on their 65th
birthday was upheld in the High Court.
As the law currently
stands employees can be dismissed as long as their employer
follows the correct procedure. An employee does have the
right to request to work beyond 65 but the request can be refused
with no need for justification. Under the same law an employer can
refuse to employ anyone over the age of 65.
At present the majority
of people in the UK retire before 65. However, nearly 1.5 million
currently work beyond statutory retirement age and the charities
who challenged the laws (Age Concern and Help the Aged) believe far
more people would work past their 65th birthday if their employer
permitted it.
The charities launched
the challenge as they believe the current laws are in breach of the
EU’s Equal Treatment Directive. Whilst Mr Justice Blake decided the
Default Retirement Age (DRA) introduced by the government in 2006
did comply with the EC Directive relating to age discrimination, he
did observe that there was a “compelling case” for changing the
law. So sure are the charities that a change in law will happen
when the government reviews the laws in 2010 they have decided not
to appeal.
The judge also noted that
the upcoming review was certainly timely bearing in mind the state
of the economy and the additional pressure an ageing population is
putting on the UK's social security system.
Speaking on BBC Radio
Wales Hugh James’s head of employment, Alison Love said:
“It’s my opinion that a
default retirement age will be removed in the not too distant
future. This is inevitable due to the economic pressures and the
aging workforce.”