Changes to the retirement age

13 January 2011

The Government has today confirmed that it will remove the Default Retirement Age (DRA) so that people have more choice about when to stop working. The change will be phased out between 6 April and 1 October 2011.

Currently the DRA enables employers to make staff retire at 65 regardless of their circumstances, but the Government feels the rules must change as people are living longer, healthier lives.

The change means that:

• From 6 April 2011, employers will not be able to issue any notifications for compulsory retirement using the DRA procedure.
• Between 6 April and 1 October, only people who were notified before 6 April, and whose retirement date is before 1 October can be compulsorily retired using the DRA.
• From 1 October 2011, employers will not be able to compulsorily retire their employees, unless the retirement can be objectively justified in their particular circumstance.

The removal of the DRA not only raises practical issues for employers in managing the older worker but also across the workforce more generally with a wide range of areas such as succession and workforce planning, performance management and ensuring consistency and fairness in their policies and practices.

The proposed changes will therefore have far reaching implications for the way many organisations work and employers who fail to make the necessary changes to approaches to employee retirement may face claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination.

For more information please click on the links below to view guidance from ACAS and the DWP:

Answers to employer questions on older workers & retirement (pdf)

Guidance for employers - working without the default retirement age (pdf)

Workforce management without a fixed retirement age (pdf)

If you would like any further information please contact info@skillsforcare.org.uk.