Can Employers continue to use a Mandatory Retirement Age
The High Court decision in R (on the application of the Incorporated Trustees of the National Council on Ageing (Age Concern England)) v Secretary of State for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (the Heyday case) upheld the default retirement age set out in the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 (SI 2006/1031). The Regulations provide for a national default retirement age of 65, although employees have the right to request to work beyond this age. Employers can set a mandatory retirement age at 65 or above and the default retirement age provides that a dismissal at or above this age will be lawful as long as the statutory retirement procedure is followed. Employers can set a mandatory retirement age under 65 for all or part of their workforce only if this is objectively justified by reference to the particular factual situation affecting the group of workers.