Default retirement age of 65 – here today, gone tomorrow?


The eagerly awaited High Court decision in the Heyday case was published on 25 September 2009. The case centred on a challenge to the legality of provisions in the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 which allow employers to dismiss employees aged 65 or over by reason of retirement. It also means that an employer has ready justification for not recruiting someone of that age. The European Court of Justice (ECJ) found that the UK`s default retirement age (DRA) could be objectively justified as a matter of national law. It was then up to the High Court to determine whether the Government`s basis for introducing a DRA of 65 was supported by a legitimate aim.

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