Default Retirement Age - ACAS publish guidance

Guidance for employers called "Working without the default reirement age" has been produced to by ACAS to provide advice to employers.

The guidance covers:

• How to have regular conversations with employees about your expectations, their performance and future plans
• How to treat people fairly and consistently to avoid less or more favourable treatment becuase of age
• Explanation of the Employer Justified Retirement Age (EJRA) where a retirement age is still used
• Setting objectives and expectations and managing poor performance

The guidance is straight forward and helpful.  However our experience shows that managers and business owners do not always know how to phrase a discussion appropriately.  We have found there is a disconnect between ACAS guidance, not just with Age discrimination but with most of the guidance produced to help businesses understand employment legislation,  and employers ability to manage employment relationships in general.

There is a place for experienced HR professionals to support employment relationships and advice managers on the best way to conduct and structure appropriate conversations and processes.

Default Retirement Age - Why are we still waiting for government guidance?

The Default Retirement Age (DRA) will be removed this year with interim measures between April and October.  The government promised guidance in early 2011.  The CBI is urging the government to delay removal of the DRA until proper guidance is issued.

Shoud we be worried?

The position we are in is a difficult one as HR professionals.  Conversations related to succession planning and employees intentions on retirement might lead to claims for age discrimination, should they be handled badly by managers. 

Employers will probably have to resort to the performance route rather than try to provide objective justifisation for a retirement age in many occupations in the face of no guidance.

Poor performance, particularly in more manual occupations will become onerous and this does not provide a very dignified way of dealing with older employees who may have been very loyal employees over a number of years.

Will this see a larger number of employment tribunal claims for age discrimination?  We will have to wait and see, what we do know is that HR professionals will want to make sure managers handle these situations carefully.