Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Personnel Today

Register
Log in
Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+

Employment lawEquality, diversity and inclusionRetirement

Experts criticise continued confusion around default retirement age Regulations

by John Eccleston 18 Feb 2011
by John Eccleston 18 Feb 2011

Employment law experts have condemned the Government’s handling of the abolition of the default retirement age (DRA) amid claims that the forthcoming Regulations, which become law in just six weeks, are confusing for employers and could leave them open to claims of age discrimination and unfair dismissal.

The issue lies in the transitional provisions proposed by the Government as part of the DRA’s abolition. According to experts, the way in which the transitional provisions have been drafted means that while it is still possible to force through the retirement of someone who reaches the age of 65 between 6 April and 30 September 2011, it will not be safe to retire someone who has already reached the age of 65 by 6 April.

Some employers will have already given a notice of an intended date of retirement to employees who are over the age of 65 and which takes effect after 5 April this year. As the Regulations currently stand, these retirements will therefore leave the employer exposed to claims for age discrimination and unfair dismissal.

Pseudonymous HR law blogger “Mrs Markleham” has described the Regulations as a “dog’s breakfast in the making”, and highlights two key flaws in the Regulations.

  • Although the last date for retirement is not 30 September, the employee must be 65 or the employer’s normal retirement age by that date. Anyone who would reach 65 on, for example, 10 October 2011 cannot be retired under these provisions. An employer could have given that person notice of retirement on their 64th birthday, to expire 12 months later on 10 October 2011, and that notice is still (as of today’s date, 18 February) lawful and effective. The problem is that from 6 April it will become retrospectively unlawful, and the employer will have to effectively undo all its lawfully made plans.
  • The transitional provisions only apply to employees who “attain” the age limit during the 6 April to 30 September 2011 “window”. This means anyone already aged over 65/normal retirement age cannot be lawfully retired.

Darren Newman, employment lawyer at In Company Training, said: “This is completely unexpected and may well be an error. There may also be time for the position to be corrected. Failing that, however, it may be necessary to rethink current notices of retirement that have been issued. Bringing retirements forward to before 6 April is a potentially risky strategy and should only be done after taking full legal advice.”

Stephen Simpson, senior employment law editor for XpertHR, explained that the way in which the legislation is drafted means there will be situations where retirement notices (especially to workers already aged over 65) that have already been given – and are lawful as the law now stands – will retrospectively become unlawful on 6 April 2011.

“This wouldn’t have been quite so bad if employers had been given plenty of notice of how the transition would work. While Acas issued very specific guidance on this in mid-January, in the middle of February it quietly amended the guidance to say something different, and now we’ve been presented with a third different version in the Regulations.

“Issuing guidance early is, in principle, a very good thing for employers. But it only works if the body issuing the guidance and the body issuing the legislation are on the same page. In this case, communication between Acas and the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills seems to have broken down,” said Simpson.

Further resources are available on XpertHR, including a copy of the draft Regulations.

Avatar
John Eccleston

previous post
Pay settlements hold at 2% but show signs of recovery
next post
Managers lack confidence when dealing with underperformance

You may also like

Women in FTSE 350 leadership: ‘A lot of...

20 May 2022

City firms pledge to improve social mobility in...

20 May 2022

One in five employers planning ‘no jab no...

19 May 2022

Nurses leaving due to pressure and workplace culture

18 May 2022

Ethnic diversity: report highlights disparities in school leadership

18 May 2022

Gender equality facing growing backlash from male managers

16 May 2022

Lack of flexibility pushes half of women to...

16 May 2022

Ethnicity pay gaps: Not making reporting mandatory is...

16 May 2022

MP demands timeline on carer’s leave legislation

13 May 2022

How to build a compelling talent attraction strategy...

12 May 2022
  • Apprenticeships are the solution to your recruitment problems PROMOTED | Apprenticeships have the pulling power...Read more
  • What it really means to be mentally fit PROMOTED | What is mental fitness...Read more
  • How music can help to ease anxiety at work PROMOTED | A lot has happened since March 2020, hasn’t it?...Read more
  • Why now is the time to plug the unhealthy gap PROMOTED | We’ve all heard the term ‘health is wealth’...Read more

Personnel Today Jobs
 

Search Jobs

PERSONNEL TODAY

About us
Contact us
Browse all HR topics
Email newsletters
Content feeds
Cookies policy
Privacy policy
Terms and conditions

JOBS

Personnel Today Jobs
Post a job
Why advertise with us?

EVENTS & PRODUCTS

The Personnel Today Awards
The RAD Awards
Employee Benefits
Forum for Expatriate Management
OHW+
Whatmedia

ADVERTISING & PR

Advertising opportunities
Features list 2022

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Instagram
  • Linkedin


© 2011 - 2022 DVV Media International Ltd

Personnel Today
  • Home
    • All PT content
    • Advertise
  • Email sign-up
  • Topics
    • HR Practice
    • Employee relations
    • Equality, diversity and inclusion
    • Learning & training
    • Pay & benefits
    • Wellbeing
    • Recruitment & retention
    • HR strategy
    • HR Tech
    • The HR profession
    • Global
    • All HR topics
  • Legal
    • Case law
    • Commentary
    • Flexible working
    • Legal timetable
    • Shared parental leave
    • Redundancy
    • Maternity & Paternity
    • TUPE
    • Disciplinary and grievances
    • Employer’s guides
  • AWARDS
    • Personnel Today Awards
    • The RAD Awards
    • OHW Awards
  • Jobs
    • Find a job
    • Jobs by email
    • Careers advice
    • Post a job
  • XpertHR
    • Learn more
    • Products
    • Pricing
    • Free trial
    • Subscribe
    • XpertHR USA
  • Webinars
  • OHW+