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ARTICLE · 23 FEBRUARY 2015

Employment Law Update: Compulsory Retirement Ages

Mason Hayes & Curran LLP
Mason Hayes & Curran LLP
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While there is no statutory compulsory retirement age in Ireland, it has been the practice of many employers to set a retirement age of 65 to coincide with the State Pension age.

IrelandEmployment and HR
Catherine Kelly
Catherine Kelly
Sarah Lawn
Sarah Lawn
Elizabeth Ryan
Elizabeth Ryan
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While there is no statutory compulsory retirement age in Ireland, it has been the practice of many employers to set a retirement age of 65 to coincide with the State Pension age. With the increase in the age of qualification for the State Pension from 65 years to 66 years in January 2014, it is possible that there may be an increase in age discrimination claims by employees who wish to remain at work beyond a compulsory retirement age of 65 and where their employer insists that they must retire.

Is the Setting of a Retirement Age Discriminatory?

Discrimination in the workplace on the basis of a person’s age is one of the nine grounds prohibited under the Employment Equality Acts 1998 – 2011 (the "EE Acts").  However, section 34 of the EE Acts also lists certain exceptions to discrimination, including one which provides that it does not constitute discrimination on the ground of age for employers to fix different ages for the retirement of employees. It also

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