Euro court will rule on forced retirement

Lecturers' union UCU has warned that imminent staffing shortage in further education colleges could become much worse if employers prevent their staff from working beyond 65 if they want to.

"Mature employees provide valuable experience and knowledge and skills which are not easily replaced," said Roger Kline, UCU's head of equality and employment rights. "Over 40,000 teachers in further education will need to be replaced in the coming decade. Even if pay and conditions are improved, as needed, to attract young newcomers, many lecturers over 65 may also be needed to fill the expected staffing gap."

The union's call came just days after the High Court asked the European Court of Justice (ECJ) for a ruling on a legal challenge to the new default retirement age, which was introduced by the government in October.

The Employment Equality (Age) Regulations 2006, outlined in September's Workplace Report, allow an employer to force its staff into retirement once they reach their 65th birthday - however unreasonable the circumstances.

But the membership organisation Heyday, an offshoot of the charity Age Concern, successfully applied for a judicial review of the regulations - and at a hearing this month, the High Court referred the case to the ECJ.

"We hope that the ECJ will declare that the UK's new law does not fully implement the European directive outlawing age discrimination," said Ailsa Ogilvie, Director of Heyday. "The government would be forced to amend the legislation, to give workers over 65 the same protection from discrimination that younger workers have."