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2011-10-02 09:29:09
The default retirement age in the UK has been fully abolished after being
phased out from April this year.
New legislation stops employers from compulsorily retiring workers once they
reach the age of 65.
However, research by law firm Norton Rose suggests one in 10 firms plans to
offer financial incentives to encourage workers to move on at a certain age.
The charity Age UK welcomed the legislation but said age discrimination was
still prevalent in the workplace.
'Devastated'
The legislation came too late for Andrew Webster, from Richmond in Surrey.
He was issued with a compulsory notice to retire from his job as an English
teacher at a performing arts school.
''I was devastated. I had found a job I loved, I felt I was in my prime. I got
on well with the students and they had good results," he said.
"I wanted to go on doing it for as long as possible and I needed the money as
well so it was a terrible blow when it happened.''
Andrew Webster Andrew Webster said he was pleased others would not be in his
position
He has found work as a tutor but said he took home only a third of his previous
earnings, even taking his pension into account.
''I know it is too late for me but I am pleased that other people will not also
be forced to retire before they are ready," he said.
Rules
The Employment Equality (Repeal of Retirement Age Provisions) Regulations 2011
started phasing out the default retirement age from the start of April.
That was the point after which employers could no longer issue the minimum
six-month notification for compulsory retirement, using the default retirement
age procedure.
Start Quote
Discrimination in the recruitment process is against the law, but it still
happens in practice quite a lot
Christopher Brooks Age UK
If employers still want to enforce retirement, their decisions will have to be
objectively justified, but workers can no longer be forced to retire on the
grounds of age alone.
The Norton Rose research indicated that some firms were preparing to offer
employees a "golden goodbye".
''Our survey suggests employers feel there will be limited ability to take on
younger workers as a result of the default retirement age being removed and
their perceived inability to ask more senior levels of staff to move on,'' said
Paul Griffin, an employment lawyer at Norton Rose.
''If firms are approaching people to retire that could be seen as age
discrimination in its own right.
"But our survey indicates that firms are willing to pay to encourage people to
move on at a certain time in their career."
Ageism
Age UK said that instead of focusing on making space in firms for younger
employees, businesses should instead look at the benefits that experienced
older workers could bring.
New laws from 1 October
Default retirement age of 65 ends
Minimum wage increases
New rules for paying agency workers
Agency workers' rights explained
Minimum wage up by 15p to 6.08
New rights for agency workers
Christopher Brooks, head of policy for work and learning at Age UK, said there
was still a prevailing culture of ageism.
"Many employers simply see the stereotypes of an older worker, particularly in
the recruitment phase and statistics show older workers find it harder to find
another job than any other age group," he said.
''Discrimination in the recruitment process is against the law, but it still
happens in practice quite a lot.
"It is however quite hard to prove but we do get lots of feedback from people
who have been in interviews and been told they are over qualified or just too
old to do the job, which quite often amounts to age discrimination."
Life experience
Chief executive Liz Fields from business consultancy the Financial Skills
Partnership said keeping older workers had benefits.
"The skills and life experience that an older person can bring to a business
actually helps that business become much more competitive," she said.
However, the Federation of Small Businesses said the move was "unncessary
meddling".
"It will lead to a legal quagmire for a lot of small business owners. If you
can't get rid of someone, you then have to go through the process of
performance managing someone out of an organisation, which if you have a big HR
department and you're experienced in these things is easy," said Andrew Cave
from the federation.
"The average business in this country employs four people. The owner-manager
doesn't necessarily have that expertise."