Default retirement age scrapped

From tomorrow, October 1st, Scotland's older workers will be protected from bosses who want to fire them because they think they are too old. 
The Default Retirement Age  (DRA) which gave employers the right to sack staff who were 65 and over purely because of their age is being abolished.  Age Scotland hopes  it will prove a major catalyst in ending age discrimination in the workplace which is still rife five years after regulations made it illegal.
The news comes  as  the latest employment figures show  that  the number of people in the UK aged 50 and over who have been out of work for two years or more  has passed  100,000 for the  first time  - virtually double the figure for  the same  period in 2009. The statistics also reveal that the proportion of over 50s facing long term unemployment is greater than for any other age group, highlighting the impact of age discrimination in the workplace. 
Research shows that many line managers  - responsible for day to day  workplace practice  - are still prejudiced against older workers  despite official company policy.  Another study found  that only one in six bosses believes their business is equipped to deal with greater numbers of older workers - a potentially devastating finding in a country where the workforce is ageing. 
The Default Retirement Age (DRA) was introduced in 2006 at  the same time as regulations (Employment Equality (Age) Regulations)  intended to stop age discrimination in the workplace. But the impact of the regulations was undermined by the DRA which is finally being abolished after a long campaign by Age Scotland in partnership with other members of the Age UK Charity family.
An Age Scotland spokesperson said: "The end of the Default Retirement Age is a victory for older workers who for too long have been consigned to the scrapheap for no reason other than prejudice. 
"We hope that by removing this arbitrary date for employers, attitudes towards older workers will quickly evolve to look at their skills and experience, not their date of birth.
"With an ageing population traditional rigid ideas about retirement are changing.  Many people will want to work longer for personal or financial reasons and prejudice should not lock them out of the workplace.
"However, Age Scotland also feel that the government must continue to work with employers and trade groups to highlight the benefits of hiring older workers.  This is a message which must trickle down to the individual managers responsible for day to day hiring and management." Tweet