Default retirement age comes to an end

The Coalition Government has announced that the default retirement age will be abolished from 1st October 2011. The phasing out will begin in April 2011.

The last day workers can be forced to retire using the Default Retirement Age (DRA) is 30 September 2011. As a result, the final day that an employer can provide six months’ notice using the DRA is 30 March 2011.

In general terms, under the new system the dismissal or retirement of older workers is intended to be dealt with either by an objective company policy, individual negotiation or by formal performance management procedures.

The recently published ACAS guidance on this subject summarises the issue with the following statement: “Removing the DRA does not mean that employees will never be able to retire. It just means that employers cannot force employees to retire at a set age unless the age can be objectively justified”.

UNISON advice to workplace reps is to monitor closely all retirement and dismissal procedures during the transitional period described above.

Branches should seek to negotiate a workplace retirement policy which incorporates these changes and creates a level playing field for all employees regarding retirement.