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ARTICLE · 08 DECEMBER 2021

Employer Successfully Defends Mandatory Retirement Age Policy

William Fry LLP
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A mandatory retirement age (MRA) obliges an employee to retire at a particular age.

IrelandEmployment and HR
Jeffrey Greene
Jeffrey Greene
Richard Smith
Richard Smith
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Age Discrimination and Mandatory Retirement Ages 

A mandatory retirement age (MRA) obliges an employee to retire at a particular age. An employer may provide for an MRA explicitly in the employee's employment contract, or it may be implied into the employment relationship by policy or by custom and practice. 

The Employment Equality Acts 1998 to 2021 (the Acts) prohibit discrimination on various protected grounds, including age. A MRA is considered discriminatory unless:

  1. a legitimate aim objectively and reasonably justifies it; and
  2. the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.

The Labour Court recently upheld an employer's MRA in Pat O'Donnell & Co. v Denis O'Keeffe.  Mr O'Keeffe (the Complainant) had been employed as a service engineer with Pat O'Donnell & Co. (the Respondent) since 1989. The Complainant's employment ceased in 2020 due to his reaching the Respondent's retirement age of 65. The Complainant applied to the Respondent

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