The European Court of Justice has decided that the UK’s retirement age of 65 is not necessarily in breach of EU law. However, that is not the end of the matter because the case must now return to the UK Court to decide if the UK’s compulsory retirement age of 65 can be justified. This will require the High Court to assess if the retirement age pursues a legitimate aim (such as social policy objectives), and whether the means to achieve such an aim, i.e. a blanket mandatory retirement age of 65, is proportionate in achieving that aim.
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Advocate General’s opinion in Heyday’s challenge to the Age Regulations
By Ruth Bonino on
The Advocate General of the European Court of Justice has rejected the claim by Heyday (an offshoot of Age Concern) that UK law, which entitles employers to retire employees compulsorily at or after reaching 65, is contrary to EU law. In 2007, Heyday brought a claim in the High Court against the UK Government that the national default retirement age of 65 under the Employment and Equality (Age) Regulations 2006 was incompatible with the EU Law. The High Court referred certain questions regarding the lawfulness or otherwise of the Age Regulations to the European Court of Justice (ECJ). Before the ECJ can give its judgement, the Advocate General must give a preliminary legal opinion which is usually (but not invariably) followed by the ECJ. The AG’s opinion is therefore significant because it is more than likely to be followed. Click here for a link to the opinion:
http://eur-lex.europa.eu/LexUriServ/LexUriServ.do?uri=CELEX:62007C0388:EN:HTMLContinue Reading Advocate General’s opinion in Heyday’s challenge to the Age Regulations