Search:

Home | Family | Family Law


Can an employee claim unfair dismissal if they were dismissed for being at their retirement age?

By: Maksiv Konta

It is possible for an employer to retire an employee before the normal age of retirement or 65 if they can ‘objectively justify’ the younger age of retirement. They will need to provide evidence that retiring employees at an earlier age is necessary to achieve a legitimate aim.

Legal advice should be sought to ensure that terms of the early retirement you are contemplating are lawful. If an employer cannot provide a legitimate reason for trying to retire an employee before their normal retirement age or 65, the employee may have a claim for unfair dismissal and age discrimination. In these cases, an employment lawyer is vital to protect your best interests.

An employee cannot claim unfair dismissal for being dismissed because they have reached their retirement age. However, they can claim unfair dismissal if their employer failed to follow the correct retirement procedure. When an employer retires an employee, they are obligated under employment law to provide the employer with six months’ notice of their retirement date. If they do not, a case of unfair dismissal could be brought.

In addition, an employee has the right to request that they remain in employment past their retirement age. An employer is obligated to consider this request and must hold a meeting with the employee. This is part of current employment law and must be followed to avoid claims of unfair dismissal being made by employees. An employment law solicitor can help you ensure this area of employment law is complied with.

However, employers are not obligated to grant this request. An employer cannot dismiss an employee for requesting to work past their retirement age and if they do, the employee may have a claim for unfair dismissal. The final part of the retirement procedure is that the employee must retire on the intended date. Employment law solicitors can clarify this area of employment law if you are unsure how this applies to your company.

If an employee has recently been dismissed for being at their retirement age and believes their employer did not follow the correct procedure, they are highly advised to seek advice from an employment solicitor as soon as possible. This is due to the strict time limits involved in bringing an unfair dismissal claim to an Employment Tribunal. An employment solicitor will assess the employee’s claim and advise them on the likelihood of its success. An Employment Tribunal is able to award compensation to an employee who has been unfairly dismissed.

Article Source: http://casinoarticles.us

If you would like to read more about employment law pay, employment law contracts or employment law employee please visit ContactLaw London - solicitors and lawyers.

Please Rate this Article

 

Not yet Rated

Click the XML Icon Above to Receive Family Law Articles Via RSS!

Powered by Article Dashboard