Pension age discrimination fight 'not over'

The fight for pensioners to stand against compulsory retirement ages will continue, Age Concern stated today.
 
Last month, an initial judgment in the European Court of Justice (ECJ) seemed unfavourable to the fight of charities Heyday and Age Concern to demand that compulsory retirement ages are a form of discrimination.
 
An advocate-general at the ECJ rejected the claim that compelling people to retire at 65 without compensation breached EU equality requirements – although his advice to the court is not the final judgement in most cases it is followed.
 
Ailsa Ogilvie, director of Heyday, said: "Unfortunately, many of the recent media reports have misinterpreted the legal nuances of the Heyday case. 
 
"The fact is that we still have a strong case and we will fight on for the millions of older workers in the UK."
 
The next stage is for the ECJ to publish its judgment - which could confirm or reject the Advocate General's view.  After this, the case will return to London, where the High Court will look at all the evidence and decide whether the national default retirement age can be justified.
 
Some employers choose not to employ old workers because once they pass the retirement age the insurance costs are much higher. There are also implications for pension costs for occupational schemes.
 
Gordon Lishman, director general of Age Concern, said: "Direct discrimination on the basis of age is a serious issue and only justifiable in very limited circumstances.  We are hopeful that the High Court will reach the same conclusion."
 
The case centres round the UK government's implementation of an EU directive, which Age Concerns argues allows forced retirement and gives employers too much scope for age-based rules in the workplace.