Poll: Should compulsory retirement be banned?
A high-profile case between RTÉ and an ex-reporter has reignited the issue.
A RECENT WORKPLACE Relations Commission (WRC) case involving RTÉ and ex-reporter Valerie Cox has reignited the debate around compulsory retirement.
The national broadcaster was ordered to pay €50,000 in compensation after Cox claimed that she was denied work because of her age.
However the debate around automatically retiring workers when they reach a certain age is far from new. Last year, Sinn Féin drafted a bill to outlaw mandatory retirement, which was accepted in principle by the government.
Under current rules, if private companies do cut ties with workers once they hit a certain age, they’d better have a good reason for it, as highlighted in a column by employment law expert Patrick Walshe.
With people typically living longer and fit to continue working later in life, it’s getting harder for employers to justify automatically ditching an employee once they hit a certain age.
But Walshe noted that this could become a source of tension for companies that want to hang on to younger workers by offering them the possibility of promotion – a tricky feat if older, and likely better-paid, staff are still knocking around.
With that in mind, we’re asking Fora readers this week: Should compulsory retirement be banned?
