Compulsory retirement ‘is not discrimination’, judges rule

The European High Court of Justice has ruled that Britain’s compulsory retirement age can stand, though only so long as it served a "legitimate" aim related to social or employment policy.

Prompted by a case brought before the Luxembourg court by UK charity Age Concern, which argued that enforced retirement at the age of 65 represents age discrimination, the judges noted that employers are still permitted to treat staff differently in some instances.

The court concluded that requiring a person to stop work at a certain age does not amount to discrimination, so long as the move is "objectively and reasonably justified by legitimate aims, such as those related to employment policy, the labour market or vocational training".

Despite this ruling, the final decision on enforced retirement ages in the UK will still lie with a British judge.

Get our essential weekday HR news and updates. Facebook This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged. Work Email Keep up with the latest in HR... This field is hidden when viewing the form Optin_form This field is hidden when viewing the form Optin_date Year Month Day This field is hidden when viewing the form Batch_Newsletter

Meanwhile, around 260 cases are still pending in UK employment tribunals, with thousands of pensioners likely to seek compensation for unfair dismissal should the High Court eventually rule that compulsory retirement based purely on age is unjustified.