Retirement

As a result of the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 which came into force on 1 October 2006 there is now a default retirement age of 65 (to be reviewed in 2011).

The main features of the Regulations, which relate to retirement, are that:

All employees have the right to request to work beyond the age of 65, or any other retirement age set by the organisation. Employers have a duty to consider, although not to accept, such requests
Employers must give at least six months notice to employees about their intended retirement date, so that individuals can plan for retirement
Employees must submit a request to continue working no later than three months before the intended date of retirement
There is no longer an upper age limit for unfair dismissal and redundancy. Older workers have the same rights as younger workers to claim unfair dismissal or receive a redundancy payment, unless there is a genuine retirement

Fair retirement procedures

Employers should notify employees of their intended retirement date not more than one year, but no less than six months in advance. If they do not, the employee may be liable for compensation.

If the employer fails to notify the employee six months in advance, they will have an ongoing duty to do so, which means that the original retirement date will need to be extended to ensure compliance with these procedures.

If an employee has been properly notified of their retirement they must make their request to continue working at least three months before the proposed retirement date.

The employer must consider all requests not to be retired. Where possible the employer must meet the employee to discuss their request and inform them of their decision as soon as is reasonable.

The employee may appeal against the decision. If this happens, an appeal meeting should be held as soon as is reasonable.

If it’s not possible to hold an appeal meeting within a reasonable period, the employer can consider the request without a meeting, as long as the employee‘s case for continuing to work is taken into account.

An appeal can be made if:

The employer refuses the request in its entirety
If the employer accepts it, but decides to continue employment for a shorter period than the employee requested.

This procedure must be repeated each time an individual nears the agreed extended point for retirement, unless the agreed extended period is less than six months.

Good practice

Each request to continue to work should be considered on an individual basis, taking into account the staff member’s request, the needs of the role and the organisation.

Staff may wish to wind down by reducing their contractual hours or step down to a less demanding role. While there is no legal right to request to work different hours or at a different grade, line managers should consider such requests as a way of continuing to utilise the individual’s skills and experience.