Retirement Age - Epic 7 year battle finally reaches a conclusion
Since the introduction of the Equality Act 2010 default retirement ages have become a thing of the past. Retirement is no longer considered an automatically “fair” reason to dismiss an employee. However, an employer can rely on retirement as a genuine reason to dismiss if the employer can show that the age and the process can be objectively justified.
The case of Seldon v Clarkson Wright & Jakes UKEAT/0434/13 recently considered whether a law firm's compulsory retirement of a partner at the age of 65 was a proportionate means of achieving a legitimate aim. This claim has been long running and has gone from the Employment Tribunal, to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, the Court of Appeal, the Supreme Court and back to the Employment Tribunal.
Mr Seldon's claim has finally been dismissed. It was held that the retirement age was a proportionate means of achieving legitimate aims within the meaning of the Age Regulations. The aims identified were:
- Retaining associates by being able to offer them the opportunity of partnership after a reasonable period;
- Facilitating partnership and workforce planning with realistic expectations as to when vacancies would arise;
- Contributing to a congenial and supportive workplace culture by limiting expulsion of partners through performance management.
Although this decision will generally be welcomed by employers, it should be viewed with caution in determining whether to compulsorily retire any individuals – employees or partners – at a certain age given that there is no longer a default Government retirement age.
Posted on 10/20/2014 by Ortolan
