Originally published July 2006
The major change which will affect every employer in the country is the need to introduce new procedures on retirement. Sejal Raja explains.
The Regulations will not only prevent discrimination occuring in the workplace, but will also make specific changes to the law on unfair dismissal. In summary, the changes are as follows:-
- Allow those over age 65 to claim unfair dismissal;
- Entitle employees over age 65 to redundancy payments;
- Create a new fair reason for dismissal on grounds of retirement - provided procedures are properly followed.
The Regulations set out a specific procedure to be followed to dismiss an employee, even though the retirement date was agreed in the original contract of employment. Provided that this procedure is properly followed, a dismissal on the grounds of retirement will be fair even though the real reason for the dismissal may be on grounds of performance or redundancy. The procedure must be followed
