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04/03/2009
Retirement age law under fire |
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'Double standards' in the mandatory retirement law have come under attack from campaigners.
The national mandatory retirement age of 65 - passed in 2006 - was amended last year to exclude civil servants including members of parliament and Age Concern has pointed out that many members would have to retire without this exemption.
Housing minister Margaret Beckett and shadow business secretary Kenneth Clarke would be among the 89 members forced to leave now, the charity noted.
Director general of Age Concern Gordon Lishman remarked that the government "recognises" the value of allowing older civil servants to keep working, but "it has failed to apply the same rules to other workers who are forcibly retired‚ regardless of their talents and abilities‚ purely on the basis of age".
Mr Lishman's comments come days before a European Court of Justice ruling is due on the legality of mandatory retirement ages in EU member states.
The government is also facing a challenge to the rules from two 70-year-old judges who are suing the Ministry of Justice after being forced to retire because of their age.
An employment tribunal panel is hearing the case.
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