Forced retirement costs RTÉ €100,000

The Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) recently ordered the state broadcaster to pay €100,000 to a former senior producer for age-related discrimination. The decision highlights the serious risks employers face if they mishandle an employee’s retirement.

Our ageing workforce

The RTÉ case should be viewed in the context of an ageing Irish workforce. Not only are there more senior employees at work, more and more of them are seeking to work beyond traditional retirement ages.

If employers refuse an employee request to extend his/her working life, many employees are seeking legal advice and making discrimination claims to the WRC. And that’s not an exaggeration. The WRC reported that employment equality complaints increased by 343% in 2018, the majority of which were retirement-related.

Background to the RTÉ case

In September 2017, Anne Roper, a senior producer with RTÉ, received a letter in anticipation of her 65th birthday inviting her to a retirement planning course. Ms Roper made a request to work beyond her 65th birthday on a fixed-term contract. She went back and forth with RTÉ’s HR department until April 2018 when it became apparent that RTÉ would not accept the request to work beyond the age of 65.

Ms Roper then attempted to overturn the decision through RTÉ’s internal grievance procedure, but to no avail. Following confirmation of her termination, she lodged a discrimination claim on the ground of the age under the Employment Equality Acts 1998 – 2015.

Contractual retirement age

Several employment documents were presented to the WRC by RTÉ. These included the employment contract, pension documents and the staff manual. However, none of these documents referred to a mandatory retirement age, only a ‘normal retirement date’ or a ‘normal retirement age.’

Although RTÉ submitted evidence proving that most employees do retire at 65, a significant number of employees (17%) also worked beyond the age of 65 for the state broadcaster.

While RTÉ failed to establish that there was a contractual retirement age, the adjudication officer (AO) was not satisfied that Ms Roper was unaware that the ‘normal retirement age’ of 65 might apply to her. As a result, the AO considered RTÉ’s defence of objective justification.

What is objective justification?

Mandatory retirement ages must be objectively justified by a legitimate business aim. The Workplace Relations Commission published a Code of Practice on Longer Working in December 2017 setting out the following legitimate business aims which employers could rely on to justify a mandatory retirement age:

  • intergenerational fairness (allowing younger workers to progress);
  • motivation and dynamism through the increased prospect of promotion;
  • health and safety (generally in more safety-critical occupations);
  • creation of a balanced age structure in the workforce;
  • personal and professional dignity (avoiding capability issues with older employees), or
  • succession planning. 

RTÉ put forward the argument that it was necessary for Ms Roper to retire at age 65 for two reasons. Firstly, to ensure intergenerational fairness and secondly, to facilitate the promotion of younger producers.

For the objective justification defence to succeed, the mandatory retirement age must be an appropriate and necessary means of achieving the stated business aim. The AO rejected the argument that RTÉ’s means of achieving intergenerational fairness were appropriate or necessary. The AO found that RTÉ’s decision to forcibly retire Ms Roper had a disproportionately negative effect on the employee and made little difference to workforce demographics.

Ruling

The WRC concluded that denying Ms Roper the opportunity to work beyond the age of 65 was discriminatory and noted that it was also contrary to government and social policy to promote longer working lives. As the objective justification defence failed, the AO ordered RTÉ to pay Ms Roper compensation of one year’s salary which came to €100,000.

RTÉ has since announced its intention to appeal the decision.

So, can employers enforce a mandatory retirement age?

There is a legal basis for enforcing mandatory retirement ages. Provided there is objective justification for setting a particular retirement age, it will be permitted under the Employment Equality Acts 1998 – 2015.

In practice, this means that you must have a legitimate business aim that justifies the particular retirement age. You must also provide evidence that the retirement age is an appropriate and necessary way of achieving that aim.

Reduce retirement risks

Did you know that almost a fifth of the Irish workforce is now aged 55 and over (up from 10% in 1998)? This, combined with the fact the state pension age is increasing in the coming years, means that requests to work beyond traditional retirement ages are going to increase too.

These factors combine to produce age-related discrimination risks for employers. To avoid an RTÉ type situation, ensure you have appropriate retirement clauses in your employment contracts and that you are prepared to handle conversations around retirement with senior employees.

Need our help?

If you would like further complimentary advice on retirement from an expert, our advisors are ready to take your call. Call us on 01 886 0350 or request a callback here.

Book a call with a consultant

Complete the form below and a consultant will call you as soon as possible.

Book a call with a consultant

Complete the form below and a consultant will call you as soon as possible.

Latest Resources

St Patrick’s Day: Have you prepared for absenteeism?

Published: March 20th 2024 Following national celebrations and public holidays like St Patrick’s day, you could find yourself down several staff members. And – as […]

What Employees Are Entitled to a Public Holiday Benefit & How Are Benefits Calculated?

public holiday
Published: March 20th 2024 From Easter Monday to St Patrick’s Day, Ireland gets ten public holidays and, with them, public holiday benefits. But what if […]

What happens when workplace romances go wrong

workplace romances gone wrong
First published: February 14th 2024 Last updated: February 14th 2024 Love makes the world go round, or so they say. But what effect does love […]

Olga Shevchenko

Director/Advocate, Immigration Advice Bureau

Olga Shevchenko specialises in immigration advocacy and consultancy, in particular, employment permit, visas, family reunification, citizenship, etc, for those seeking to visit, reside or invest in Ireland.

Olga provides extensive information, knowledge, and support to her clients, enabling access to positive solutions for people struggling to handle the immigration law.

Minister Neale Richmond

Minister of State, Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment

Neale Richmond TD was appointed as Minister of State at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment with special responsibility for Employment Affairs and Retail Business and the Department of Social Protection in January 2023.

Much of his work at the Department of Enterprise, Trade and Employment is with businesses, workers, their representative bodies and the State Agencies to ensure that the economic recovery and growth extends to all parts of the country. He works closely with the SME sector, including retail, on building resilience and on the transition to the green and digital economies.

Mark Carpenter

Director of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs, Sky

Mark Carpenter is Director of Regulatory & Corporate Affairs at Sky Ireland. In this role he has responsibility for External and Internal Communications, Public Policy and Regulatory Affairs and the company’s ‘Bigger Picture’ (CSR) programme. He also works closely with Sky Group teams on a variety of matters, in particular our partnerships with domestic broadcasters.

Prior to working at Sky, Mark worked as a Policy Officer in Houses of the Oireachtas and as a Management Consultant at Accenture. He has a BA in History from Oxford University and a PhD in Political Science from Trinity College Dublin.

Nora Cashe

Litigation and Compliance Manager, Peninsula

Nóra studied Law in Griffith College Dublin and qualified as a Barrister in 2008, practising in the area of Criminal law. She is also member of the Irish Employment Law Association.

Nora has extensive experience representing clients at Employment Tribunal hearings, Conciliation / Mediation meetings before both the Workplace Relations Commission and the Labour Court. 

Nóra is a member of the Irish Employment Law Association and engages with the WRC Adjudication Service as part of their stakeholder engagement forum.

Deiric McCann

Managing Director, Genos International Europe

Deiric McCann leads Genos International Europe – The EU division of a world-leading provider of emotional intelligence solutions. 

With over two decades experience at the highest levels of management, Deiric supports clients to develop the resilience, emotional intelligence, psychological safety and engagements of their employees.

Rhiannon Coyne

Senior HR Consultant, Graphite HRM

Rhiannon Coyne is a Senior HR Consultant at Graphite HRM and will be providing an overview of best practice on how to deal with complaints of bullying and harassment in the workplace. 

With a number of recent updates to employment laws, Rhiannon will take a closer look at employment equality and how it is interlinked to Health & Safety and what employers can learn from recent case laws.

David Begg

Chairman, Workplace Relations Commission

David Begg was appointed Chairperson of the Workplace Relations Commission (WRC) in January 2021.

David is also a professor at Maynooth University Institute of Social Sciences. Mr Begg’s extensive history in the trade union movement included leading the ESB Officers Association and Irish Congress of Trade Unions, stepping away from the latter in 2001 to chair international aid agency Concern.

David Begg was also previously a director of the Central Bank of Ireland between 1995 and 2010.