More on this storyOlder workers squeezed out ahead of law change
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Age discrimination: redundancy and retirement
How will the new age discrimination laws affect redundancy and retirement for you? RedundancyThere will no longer be age limits for the statutory redundancy payments scheme: those over 65 will have the same rights as everyone else. Currently, workers aged 64 see their redundancy entitlement gradually fall as they reach 65.
This practice will end. Neither will there be an upper limit on unfair dismissal claims, or statutory sick pay.
Employers will also have to be very careful in their selection process for redundancy: it may be age discriminatory to use the "last in first out" practice or length of service criteria if the firm has not objectively justified it. RetirementCompanies will no longer be able to set a retirement age under 65, unless they can justify it - along with evidence. Under the new legislation, the Government has set the default retirement age at 65, which will be reviewed in 2011.
This means that if your company hasn't set its own retirement age, then you will retire at 65. Your managers must inform you of your retirement date between six months and one year of the date. (If they don't you could get eight weeks pay as compensation.)
You will also have the right to ask your firm to continue working. They have a duty to consider your request, and should hold a meeting to discuss it, but they don't have to say yes.
In fact, if they say no they don't have to give a reason, and although you can appeal you have no further recourse.
There are special arrangements for those who retire between October 1 and March 31, 2007. See Age discrimination - DTI and download factsheet 3.
"We are very disappointed that the right to request working past 65 is so weak," says Lucy Anderson, senior policy adviser at the TUC.
But Sam Mercer disagrees. She feels if employers lost the right to retire people at 65, they would never take on anyone over 55 in the first place.
"I think because employers have the choice on working past 65, they will actually be more adventurous in their decisions because they are not being forced." Written by Rachel Carlyle
This article was created: 24 July 2006.
This article was last edited: 6 November 2006.
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