Retiring an employee
Louis Walsh, has been recently reported to have told press that his removal from the popular reality programme “The X Factor” was an ageist decision.
In an interview with Glamour Magazine, the 58 year-old is alleged to have said that the decision to remove him was an ageist one and that "I was sacked - that's the truth of it and I was devastated. When I got the phone call I felt like I'd been run over by a train. I just wasn't prepared for it. ITV wanted to make it younger, and so they axed me. It was like a public execution. It honestly was the worst thing that has ever happened to me."
Asked if the decision was "pure ageism", he said: "Yes, but luckily the people who sacked me are no longer there, and I am."
We have taken the opportunity to speak with Brendan Wincott, Employment Law Compliance Officer at mhl support to learn more about situations of this nature. Brendan explained that “legislation presently allows an employer to dismiss an employee when they reach a set age, which means they can simply retire the individual even if they do not wish to leave themselves. Employers may have their own objectively justified default retirement age, but if not, the present default retirement age of 65 applies.”
When asked how would you retire a person, Brendan advised that “there is a formal procedure that employers need to follow, which involves at least 6 months advance written notification of the planned retirement date, plus an obligation to advise of the right to continue working beyond this date.”
Brendan continued that “if the individual does make such a request, the employer has a formal process that they are required to follow to consider it, however, presently there is no obligation requiring them to actually agree to it.”
Brendan went on to explain that “following the formation of the Coalition Government, consultation has begun calling for the removal of the default retirement age. Once this is completed, it’s likely to be much harder for employers to retire older workers based on age.
Presently (and until April 2011), employers can still take steps to retire older workers. If you have a situation where one of your employees is soon to approach retirement age, and are an existing client, please call one of the team today on 08453 100 999 quoting your PCN . If however you are not yet a client of mhl, but are interested in learning more about how we can help, please call Katy Vaughan today on 08453 100 600.
This News Release is intended to provide a general overview and discussion of the subject matter. It is not however, intended to give advice or to act as a substitute to taking legal advice from our Support Line in any specific situation. Mhl accepts no liability or responsibility for the information contained within this news release. If you would like specific advice about this subject matter, please contact one of the Employment Law Team today on 08453 100 999.
