Forced retirement

You must be allowed to work until you are 65 (this is the same for both men and women).

If your employer tries to force you to retire under the age of 65‚ or their own higher normal retirement age‚ you can claim for unfair dismissal. Employers will only be able to justify forced retirement under the age of 65 in exceptional circumstances.

For employees over the age of 65‚ it is lawful for an employer to force them to retire‚ as long as they follow the procedure outlined below. Employees have the right to request to continue working beyond the date when the employer wants them to retire, but the employer does not have to agree with this request.

Working after State Pension Age does not affect your right to the state pension. However‚ you can choose to delay drawing your state pension while you’re still working and this will entitle you to a higher annual income or a lump sum payment when you do retire.

These rules only apply to employees and civil servants. Other workers‚ such as police officers‚ office holders‚ and partners in firms are not covered and so forced retirement at any age will have to be justified.

How does the retirement procedure work?

If you don’t want to retire, you have the right to request to stay on in your job after your employer’s retirement date.

It’s important to remember that this is only a right to request staying on. Your employer can refuse the request and the law does not require them to give reasons for their decision.

Your employer must use the correct procedure which is as follows:

1) Your employer gives you notice of retirement 

• Your employer should give you a minimum of six months’ (and a maximum of twelve months’) notice of your retirement date.
• At the same time‚ they must tell you that you have the right to request to continue working. The notice must be in writing.

2) You can request to carry on working

If you make a request not to retire‚ your employer has a duty to consider that request. The procedure they must follow is known as the ‘duty to consider procedure’.

• Your request must be in writing‚ 3-6 months before the intended retirement date
• You must state that your request is made under paragraph 5 of Schedule 6 to the Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006
• You must state whether you wish to continue working indefinitely‚ for a certain period‚ or until a certain date
• Download our sample request to carry on working letter from the box on the right of this page

3) Your employer holds a meeting with you

Your employer must then hold a meeting to discuss the request with you within a reasonable period of time.

You’re entitled to be accompanied to this meeting by a colleague of your choice (this can be a union rep but only if they work for the same employer).

• Your employer must then notify you of their decision as soon as is reasonably practicable
• If they’ve agreed to the request‚ they must confirm whether employment will continue indefinitely‚ or for a certain period
• If the request has been refused‚ they must confirm the intended date of retirement

4) The right to appeal

If your request is refused‚ or your employer agrees to continued employment for a shorter period than was requested‚ you have the right to an appeal meeting.

a) Your employer must inform you of your right to appeal when notice of the original decision is given

b) If you do request an appeal‚ you must do so as soon as is practical after receiving notice of your employer’s decision‚ setting out the grounds of the appeal

c) Your employer must arrange a meeting within a reasonable period. Again‚ you have the right to be accompanied by a colleague of your choice.

5) Your employer’s final decision

As soon as is reasonably practical after the appeal meeting‚ your employer must give notice of their decision‚ giving details as in step 3 above.

Your employer cannot ask you to retire earlier than the date they stated in the notice of retirement in step 1.

What if you are given less than six months’ notice? And your right to request staying on

If you’re given less than six months’ notice of your retirement date and of your right to request not to retire‚ you may have a claim for unfair dismissal.

If you took the issue to an Employment Tribunal, the factors they would consider are:

• How far in advance of the retirement date the notification was given
• Whether the employer gave at least 14 days notification
• Whether the employer followed the 'duty to consider' procedures properly

If you are given less than 14 days notice of your retirement date, it is automatically unfair dismissal. Similarly, if you had been given notice of a retirement date but the job then ended before that date, it will automatically be unfair dismissal.

If the Employment Tribunal considered that it was unfair dismissal you could be awarded up to eight weeks’ pay (this is currently limited to a maximum of £380 per week)‚ so the maximum total compensation is £3,040 (figures correct as at February 2010. Compensation limits usually go up every February).

"I think I’ve been unfairly dismissed”

There is no upper age limit for unfair dismissal claims.

If your employer wants to dismiss you, you can challenge their decision as long as you meet the other eligibility requirements‚ such as having at least one year’s service. However‚ your employer can force you to retire if you are over 65 as long as they follow the correct procedure as outlined above.

If you would like to speak to someone about age discrimination, call our advice line on 0800 169 6565.

Download the Working past retirement guide (PDF 1MB)

Download the Rights at work factsheet (PDF, 262 KB)

Download the The law on age discrimination factsheet (PDF, 205 KB)

Download the Dealing with disputes at work factsheet (PDF, 185 KB)