Government announces default retirement age to end October 2011 

29 July 2010 

The Government has today (Thursday 29 July) announced that it is stamping out the practice of forcing those aged 65 and over out of employment. Head of Cloisters, Robin Allen QC, and leading discrimination barrister, Declan O'Dempsey, were leading counsel for Age Concern in Heyday, the case that brought about the end to forced retirement at 65.

Cloisters' barrister Rachel Crasnow said: "There has been a long-running Whitehall dispute over the Default Retirement Age (DRA) and equality and common sense have prevailed with the commitment to abolish the DRA next October."

For 40 years the statutory DRA has enabled employers to retire employees against their will at 65 without fear of a of unfair dismissal proceedings or after 2006 an age discrimination claim. The unfairness of this caused Age Concern to bring the Heyday case, and Mr Justice Blake to rule last summer that, had the last Government not promised a review just before the hearing, he would have held the DRA to be an unlawful breach of European law. This has been confirmed by the coalition government today with a concrete timescale for implementation.

Rachel Crasnow commented: "Although the unfairness of the DRA has been well understood within Whitehall, it has been the fear of the cost imposed on employers that has held governments back from action. The urgency of addressing the pension crisis has outweighed employers' reluctance to account in law for their treatment of older workers.

"While the productivity gains seem assured, incorporating the end of the DRA as part of a necessary social change, and not just a burden on business, will be the real challenge for the Government to address in its transition plans."