Is your employer trying to ensure diversity across the organisation? If yes, that’s a worthy move. However, forced retirement is likely to amount to age discrimination. 
That’s what happened to Professor Paul Ewart. He was head of atomic and laser physics at Oxford University’s Clarendon Laboratory but was forced to retire in September 2017 when he was aged 69 (having worked there for 38 years).
The university wanted to bring in younger and more diverse staff, so in 2011 they introduced an Employer Justified Retirement Age (EJRA) policy which forced senior staff to retire in the September before they turned 67. In 2017, the university raised the threshold to 68.
Under the policy, the Professor was originally due to retire in 2014. At the time, he was granted a two-year extension to continue his research on climate change.
He expected to get a further extension until 2020 so he could complete his research, but in February 2017, his application to work part-time was rejected and he was forced into retirement.
He therefore made a claim for age discrimination and unfair dismissal to the Reading Employment Tribunal.
They found that forcing older staff to retire was not a proportionate method of achieving diversity, because the EJRA scheme only created 2-4% more job opportunities for younger academics.
As a result, the Professor won his case, and hopes to be reinstated so he can continue his research projects. The university has said they will be considering their options, including whether to appeal against the decision.
What this means to you
Rather than enforcing compulsory retirement, employers must show there are less discriminatory ways to reach their goals. For example, they could measure staff performance at any age by imposing tests of fitness or competency.
Legitimate reasons for dismissal which have previously been accepted by the courts include: workforce planning, protecting against incompetence, promoting intergenerational fairness, and avoiding a negative impact on pensions and benefits.
Compulsory retirement policies have been abandoned by all Russell Group universities except Oxford and Cambridge.
If you want to challenge a compulsory retirement policy, there is no guarantee you will win – Professor John Pitcher was a Shakespeare scholar and Fellow at St John’s College, Oxford. However, his claim that he was unfairly forced into retirement when he was 67 was dismissed.
As you can tell, it’s a complex situation and every case is different. If you work at a company that is forcing you into retirement, let us know. We’ll help if we can.
Further reading
For more information on this subject, you might find our other articles useful:
- How to prove age discrimination
- Refused an opportunity because you’re the wrong age?
- Can my employer say I’m “too old” to work?
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