WRC finds charity workers retirement age valid for succession planning reasons

Mandatory retirement ages have become increasingly difficult to justify and enforce, however in a recent case before the Workplace Relations Commission, an Adjudication Officer found that the employer satisfied the conditions under Section 34(4) of the Employment Equality Act 1998 which provides that it shall not constitute age-based discrimination to fix a retirement age for employees if it is objectively justified by a legitimate aim and the means of achieving that aim are appropriate and necessary.