Compulsory retirement to be scrapped

The coalition government is set to announce proposals which will end compulsory retirement for people once they reach the age of 65.

It will announce a transitional arrangement from next April which will mean that companies will no longer be able to issue retirement notices to workers who turn 65, they instead will be told to negotiate with those workers affected over when they want to retire.

Under the law as it stands an employer issues written notification to retire at least six months before the employee turns 65 although if the member of staff wishes to work beyond that age the company can extend their employment. The Office for National Statistics says that 12% of workers are currently employed beyond the retirement age.

The charity Age UK has welcomed the new government proposals, saying it is the culmination of a four-year campaign to stop employers forcing workers to retire at a certain time. Michelle Mitchell, director at the charity said: “All the indications are that the Government will finally set a clear date for the abolition of this arbitrary and unfair law. This would be a huge victory for hundreds of thousands of employees who are at risk of being forced out of their jobs simply because of their age.”

It is thought that more than 100,000 people retired against their will last year and surveys have suggested that a quarter of men and two-thirds of women over 50 would wish to carry on working beyond 65.