Retirement

Abolition of the DRA does not prevent an employer discussing retirement plans with workers. Employers are permitted to talk to employees about their future plans, including retirement, provided they do so in an appropriate way. This means that the way that discussions are carried out do not amount to less favourable treatment because of age. Employers should not put pressure on older workers to retire or try and get them to leave the organisation by a certain date.

Discussions should also be voluntary. It may be most appropriate to have such discussions during a development review when the focus is on reflecting on the past and discussing future plans.

As there are no longer any statutory provisions governing such discussions — there was a right to request to stay on before the DRA was abolished — there is no statutory right for them to be conducted in the presence of a workplace representative. However, the TUC and CIPD say that it is good practice to allow an employee to invite their workplace representative to a discussion if they wish to have them there:

“The workplace representative may have ideas on ways the retirement can be managed or delayed which could be mutually beneficial to the employee and employer. The employee may also feel more secure in asking for support (for example, in the form of flexible working hours) to enable them to stay in work.”