RTE has been ordered to pay €100,000 (the equivalent of one
year's salary) to a former employee as compensation for age
discrimination. This case, Anne Roper v Radió
Teilifís Eireann [2019], also demonstrates the great
difficulty an employer will face when trying to justify imposing a
mandatory retirement age.
This follows on from a remarkably similar case in 2018,
Valerie Cox v RTE, in which RTE was ordered to pay
€50,000 compensation to a former employee who had been
compulsorily retired at 65.
Retirement related age discrimination claims have sharply
increased in Ireland due to the rising State pension eligibility
age. The current age of eligibility for the State pension is 66,
but this is set to increase to 67 from 2021 and to 68 from
2028.
