Plan to end fixed retirement age (From Staines Guardian)

Plan to end fixed retirement age

3:40am Thursday 29th July 2010

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The Government has come under attack from business groups after announcing plans to phase out the so-called default retirement age (DRA) of 65 by October next year.

Ministers said the DRA will be "consigned to the history books", drawing praise from campaigners who have complained that forcing someone to retire just because they reached 65 was discriminatory.

Employment Relations Minister Edward Davey said: "With more and more people wanting to extend their working lives, we should not stop them just because they have reached a particular age."

But after studying details of the announcement, business groups criticised the move, complaining that the timescale will give companies little time to prepare.

Adam Marshall, director of policy at the British Chambers of Commerce, said: "The Government has pledged to reduce the burden of employment law, but at the same time it is proposing to restrict businesses' ability to manage their workforce by phasing out the DRA.

"Employers agree that the DRA is currently too low and needs to rise for both economic and demographic reasons. However, if ministers want to make a positive change, they should either raise the DRA in line with the state pension age, or offer employers a new dismissal route that helps businesses manage their workforce more effectively, regardless of age."

CBI deputy director general John Cridland said: "The decision to abandon the DRA leaves business with many unresolved problems and the Government's timetable to scrap it will give companies little time to prepare."

Pensions Minister Steve Webb said that the move would allow people with skills and experience to continue working beyond 65 and TUC general secretary Brendan Barber joined him in praising the proposal.

He said: "This is a welcome move. It cannot be right that workers lose their protection against arbitrary dismissal overnight because of their age.

"But we need to go further to give people real choice about how and when they retire, with new rights for flexible working. This can end the retirement cliff-edge where people work full-time one day and stop work the next. Many would prefer a phased retirement."

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