65 and Out... Fight Goes on for the Employees Who Just Want to Carry on Working

By Sarah Freeman, The Yorkshire Post

September 24, 2008

United Kingdom

By the standards of many demonstrations, it was a fairly dignified affair.

When Age Concern took its campaign to overturn current retirement legislation to the European Court of Justice, there were no shock tactics or banner- wielding protesters, but, with its supporters being an erudite bunch of doctors, civil servants and teachers, the charity crossed its fingers and hoped common sense would prevail.

It didn't. Yesterday, the advocate-general backed the current UK laws which since 2006 have allowed employers to compel workers to retire at 65, rejecting complaints that the regulations breached equality requirements. The decision left the 260 employment tribunals, brought by workers put out to pasture long before they wanted to retire, looking more than a little fragile, and Age Concern wondering exactly where it had gone wrong.

"Millions of older workers in the EU will be fuming that the advocate-general thinks ageism counts for less than other forms of discrimination," said Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern. "The current rules are costing good workers their jobs.

"Denying people work because of their date of birth is grossly unfair and in these tough times we expect more people will need to carry on working into retirement in order to make ends meet.

"More than a million people are already working past state pension age and they are the fastest growing group in the country."

While many can't think of anything worse than the prospect of working past pensionable age, the lack of choice for those who feel they still have something to give the profession they spent their lives training for remains a problem.

Nigel Speight was until recently a highly-regarded consultant paediatrician, working out of Durham University Hospital, but when he turned 65 he was told his services would no longer be required.

"It was difficult to argue against because the managers didn't have to give a reason why they weren't going to let me stay on," says the softly-spoken clinician. "I simply put forward the case that I was physically and mentally fit and was still able to give a good level of care. They'd acknowledged that the previous year by giving me an increment on the merit award scheme and there had never been any criticism of my clinical ability.

"I'm not bitter, I quickly managed to secure locum work, but the law seems to be a bit of a compromise. You're allowed to ask to stay on, but the employer can refuse without giving any reason. You like to feel appreciated by your employer, but the NHS has changed in recent years and with trusts merging it means you are often dealing with managers you've never met before."

While in recent years 60 has widely been talked of as the new 50 or even the new 40, supporters of Age Concern say the law has been too slow to catch up. With the country facing a potentially critical skills shortage, they say older workers should be prized rather than pensioned off.

"People feel like they're been written off," says Judith Cork, who runs a Yorkshire-based consultancy firm helping public and private organisations to focus on the opportunities arising from 50-plus consumers and older workers. "Before I set up the consultancy, I worked in marketing at HBOS looking at what they call key life events, including retirement. It seemed to me many companies were ignoring older people and sadly for the majority I think that's still the case.

"It creates a culture where individuals who find themselves out of work at, say 50, feel they no longer have anything to offer, when in fact their experience is often priceless. I've just turned 50 and we all feel slightly depressed when we have to tick the next box along the age range, but we shouldn't.

"Ultimately, it's about choice, and sadly at the moment that's what's being denied."

Despite the obstacles, a growing number of older people are defying accepted wisdom by setting up their own businesses.

Paul Baker, from Withernsea, currently works as a psychiatric nurse, but at 60 years old he has just launched a business with his two brothers, Robi and John, to produce handcrafted sculptures. It's only early days for the Fabulous Baker Boys Foundry, but the project has provided a focus for Paul as he nears retirement.

"Robi is the artist," he says. "The company is based around his talent, but all three of us are committed to making this work, and age really 
doesn't matter.

"At the moment I go to work in a collar and tie and when I look at Robi in his workshop overlooking the North Sea, wearing shorts and flip-flops, yes, there's a little jealousy there. I'll probably keep going as a nurse for another two or three years, but it's this venture which we are all really looking forward to pursuing.

"People shouldn't be written off when they hit 65. They have so many years of experience under their belt and I definitely think that when it comes to setting up a business I'm much wiser now than I would have been 10 or 15 years ago. It sounds a cliché, but you're only as old as you feel. All three of us are grandfathers, but there shouldn't be a cut-off point to doing something you love."

About 25,000 workers are estimated to face default retirement each year, and while yesterday's EU ruling is not binding, a final decision will be made in six months when it is likely to be upheld. The Government has promised it will look again at the situation in 2011, but by then Age Concern and its supporters fear many will have already slipped through the net.

Until then, the row will no doubt rumble on, but the likes of the Confederation of British Industry and the Institute of Directors have been quick to redress the balance, insisting the current laws work well, and questioning the need to fix the current system when it isn't broken.

"It's a good decision for employers and while you may have to scratch a little deeper, I also think it's good for employees," says Paul Menham, employment solicitor at the Bradford and Leeds law firm Gordons LLP. "While many companies do value older workers, the current laws give employers recourse to what's called no-fault dismissal for workers it considers are no longer up to the job. It makes the whole process easier, but crucially also gives employees the right to reply.

"There is now a procedure to be followed where workers have to be given at least six months' notice and any objections to being retired have to be formally noted. Without this, they may well be subjected to the indignity of a poor performance review to prove that they no longer fulfil the job requirements.
Without the ability to retire people, there is a fear that it would make employers less likely to take on older workers and that's something no one wants.

"I have a hunch the EU directive will be upheld, but clearly the workforce is getting older and it seems reasonable that in the not too distant future there will come a time when it's sensible to raise the retirement age to 70."

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