The Government’s Age Positive campaign, which offers advice on the forthcoming age discrimination regulations, has updated its guidance.
From 1 October retirement ages under 65 will be unlawful unless they can be justified. Compulsorily retiring employees at 65 or above will not be unlawful – but there will be a new statutory procedure to follow.
Employers will have to give at least six months’ notice of the intended retirement date.
There are special arrangements for employees who want to retire between 1 October 2006 and 31 March 2007 which means employers might have to issue formal notifications of retirement dates before the regulations come into force.
The updates to the Age Positive site also include myth-busting articles on demographics, insurance, training and health.
They can all be found at: www.agepositive.gov.uk
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TUC Report
See also:
http://money.guardian.co.uk/work/story/0,,1844826,00.html
According to the TUC, more than a third of the 2.6 million people aged between 50 and 65 who are unemployed or economically inactive would prefer to be working. Some 250,000 said they were looking for a job while another 750,000 said they would like to have one.
The TUC is calling on the government and employers to adopt measures to stop an ageing workforce being pushed out of jobs on to benefits and early pensions.
The report attacks the idea that the post-war baby boomers are opting to retire early. It says only a third of those who retire early do so entirely voluntarily.
The TUC’s deputy general secretary, Frances O’Grady, said: “Most baby boomers are not retiring early to cruise round the world or go bungee jumping. They are being dumped out of work and on to the scrapheap and are scraping by on benefits or small work pensions.”