Would you be in favour of outlawing the mandatory retirement age in the forthcoming age legislation?
I cannot prejudge what the Department of Trade and Industry, which is consulting on this issue, will say. Personally, I think a productive member of staff being retired simply because they’ve reached the age of 60 or 65 is ridiculous. That approach should be thrown into the dustbin of social history. Employers are concerned that the EU employment directive, which will outlaw age discrimination in 2006, will mean that long-term service as a way of determining benefits would become illegal. Can you reassure them about this? Employers can be relaxed about this. Different pension schemes have their own arrangements, but it is logical that if you work another year or two then your contributions are higher and you therefore earn a bigger pension. Is age discrimination a problem for younger workers too? Yes. Although the focus has shifted to discrimination against older workers, some companies are not providing opportunities for younger workers either. With our age-positive strategy, we are a
