Retirement is no longer a fair reason for dismissal

Compulsory or forced retirement is a dismissal. Until 2011, compulsory retirement was a “fair reason” for dismissal, as long as the statutory retirement procedure was followed. This procedure required the employer to give employees who were within 12 and six months of their normal retirement age (usually 65) at least six months’ notice of their impending retirement. At the same time, the employees had to be notified of their right to request working beyond retirement.

The law changed on 6 April 2011, with the abolition of the default retirement age (DRA). It is no longer possible forcibly to retire employees at age 65. The last possible date for a retirement under the statutory retirement procedure was 5 October 2012.

An older worker can still retire voluntarily, and draw any occupational pension they are entitled to.

Forced retirement amounts to both direct and indirect age discrimination. This means that any contractual retirement age will be age discriminatory unless it can be objectively justified. For the law on age discrimination and compulsory retirement, see Chapter 6: Discrimination, pages 187-189.