13 July 2009
A solicitor who was forced to leave his job at the age of 65
will bring a test appeal today in the first challenge over
compulsory retirement to reach the Court of Appeal.
Mr Leslie Seldon was forced to retire from the law firm where he
worked as a civil litigator for 35 years, in line with the
partnership agreement. Mr Seldon said: "I was fit and able to carry
on, and I also needed to financially because my wife and I had
suffered a financial disaster during the property crash in
1989."
Mr Seldon's case went to an employment tribunal, where he lost,
and then to the Employment Appeal Tribunal, which agreed that it
could be lawful to force partners to leave solely on grounds of age
to give younger solicitors a realistic prospect of partnership.
The legal case at the heart of the case is whether an employer
can justify age discrimination for their own objectives, or whether
they have to have social policy objectives, the scope of which is
uncertain.
A separate challenge to the legality of Britain's retirement age
will also be heard this week in the High Court which is being
brought by the charities Age Concern and Help the Aged. Scores of
age discrimination claims are on hold, awaiting the outcome of the
decision.
Under the law, workers can request to stay on beyond 65, but
employers can insist on retirement if they consider it both
appropriate and necessary.
