§ Mr. HancockTo ask the Secretary of State for Trade and Industry if she will introduce legislation removing the upper age limit on employment rights. [129038]
§ Mr. SutcliffeThere is no upper age limit on the great majority of employment rights. However, under current legislation employees cannot generally complain of unfair dismissal if they have reached their employer's normal retirement age for their job, or, if there is no normal retirement age, the age of 65. Similarly, they have no entitlement to a statutory redundancy payment if they have reached the age of 65 or, if lower, the employer's normal retirement age for their job.
The public consultation on age discrimination launched on 2 July, "Equality and Diversity: Age Matters", proposes changing these provisions so that employees who believe they have been unfairly dismissed can seek redress at any age, but retirement at a justifiable retirement age will be a fair reason for dismissal. The upper age limit for entitlement to a statutory redundancy payment will depend on the decision we make about retirement ages. A final decision will be made in the light of responses to consultation.