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This change will have a significant effect on the way many businesses plan their workforces and manage staff.

After 1 October, employers will be unable to automatically retire employees because they reach a particular age.

Retiring employees after this date will have to be objectively justified and employers will need clear evidence to defend this action if challenged.

Because of the 6 months notice which has to be given to retire an employee, in practice, employers will no longer be able to compulsorily retire employees using the default retirement age from 6 April.

Employers who fail to embrace this new legislation may face claims of unfair dismissal and discrimination. 

Key questions you may ask yourself as an employer include:

- I have an employee who is not performing as well as I would wish, I was hoping to use the DRA to dismiss him when he reaches 65 but now cannot do this because the law has changed. What can I do?
- If I discuss retirement with an older worker can I leave myself open to a claim of age discrimination?
- Can I protect myself by getting an employee to sign a contractual agreement that they will retire at a certain date?
- What can I do if an employee had indicated that they will retire on a certain date but then do not do so?

View Acas answers to these questions and further guidance including the Acas Advisory leaflet - Working without the DRA - Employer Guidance

              Training Course - Retirement Process and the Removal of the Default Retirement Age

There is much to consider and act upon with the removal of the DRA and this special Acas training course is designed to help you contextualise and understand the changes as they will affect your organisation.
We will also help businesses understand the transition arrangements from the current to the future provisions and many employers may wish to also review employer justified retirement.
View Acas training course listings, dates and locations

Acas is also able to offer specialist in-company business solutions. If you would like to enquire about how Acas can help in this area please complete our online customer enquiry form and we will contact you to discuss your needs further.

View course dates and locations by region:  East Midlands,    East of England,    London,    North East ,    North West,    Scotland,    South East,    South West,    Wales ,    West Midlands,    Yorkshire and Humber

Find out how the effective identification of critical HR issues can transform your business for the better.

The Acas Employee Feedback Survey is a modern and comprehensive research tool based on established high-quality national and international surveys. It asks the questions that matter most in your organisation.
With the help of an Acas expert adviser, responses can then be mapped against your organisational objectives and priorities and you will then be able to identify potential issues or risks and opportunities for development.

Find out more or submit an enquiry using our online enquiry form