UKH

What happens when you reach retirement age with regard to your job? I'm not talking about professions here, just normal people in normal jobs...shops, warehouses, garages etc etc.

Am I right in thinking that given you can't be forced to retire on age grounds you just keep working (if you want to) until at some point you are made redundant? 

Correct. You can't be forced to retire.

However you can be removed on capability grounds if you become less able at your job. No guarantee of redundancy 

Ah I see. That is the nub of it.

Given the current government's humane and civilized approach to most things I think you're going to be turned into a pie.

I think one situation that is likely to cause a lot of "unwanted" retirements is when the prospective retiree wants to work fewer hours/days and the employer doesn't really want/need them anymore, in which case the answer to any change of working pattern request is likely to be "no".

Leaves the prospective retiree with a rather stark binary choice ☹

Are you saying that Sweeney Todd is going to be the next Minister of Work and Pensions?

Soylent Green

You can just keep working. It's all about negotiating with your employer.

If you're just doing the day job and there's no benefit to them keeping you on, younger staff are cheaper etc, they may offer you redundancy; otherwise make your retirement decision based on your personal circumstances.

However if you're useful, and if they have no backup for what you do when you leave/retire, you're in a good position, and should have lots of freedom to decide what you want to do; go part-time and progressively reduce your hours, zero hours contract, and so on.

For younger people, this should be a key issue in considering career choices: make yourself indispensable (while avoiding having to work 8 days a week clearly).

As others have said you can't be forced to retire and it does come down to capability.

A lot of shops employ retired people as they are generally flexible in hours and have an old fashioned work ethic.

I was "retired" from my brief stint in office work due to a complete inability to stay awake during meetings. Not really what you want.

Ha. I'm not convinced this has anything to do with being near retirement age.....;p

I don't think you can be made redundant, it's the job role you do that isn't required any more that means you get finished. So in theory, as long as you want to and are able to, you can work for as long as you want, assuming the job you do in your company is still required.

A company shouldn't make someone redundant on a Friday, then hire someone else on a Monday doing the same job, that's not fair. That's not to say it doesn't happen, as I'm sure it does, but there are rules companies "should" follow when making people redundant. 

We have a guy at work who is well into his 70's He's on long term sick at the moment, he's been off for over a year. AFAIK he's still employed by our company.

I didn't want to work in an office. I wanted to be a lion tamer

Then the meetings were too long and not valuable. Their fault.

Similar roles at least 

I think it was more the over heated rooms. After a career working outside the heat just lulled me to sleep. It got to the point where I was stabbing myself in the palm with a pen to try and stay awake. all to no avail. To be fair I had the same problem during afternoon lessons when at collage.

You need to stick at it!

nah. Think I'll sleep on it

ISWYDT. Very good,

Good idea. Less chance of falling asleep on the job. 

Not twice anyway !

With the current shortage of employees etc , that is in most cases unlikely. There are of course always exceptions. 

Bravo 👏👏👏

What if the contract you signed up to says you have to?

Not a lawyer, but under U.K. law, probably unenforceable.

Ever seen Logan's Run?

That is illegal these days.

I don't know.  Lots of things can be agreed by agreement! And those things may be enforceable, especially if agreed before the change in the law.

Our senior non-exec (now in his 90s) always used to say that our employee contracts were not worth the paper they were written on.

There's an awful lot of unenforceable blx written into employment contracts, in the hope that it will alter employee behaviour to the advantage of the employer. However clauses are only enforceable insofar as they are legal, and additionally, that they are reasonable (see the lawyers for definitions of reasonable).

For example, people have successfully contested long gardening leave / non-competition clauses on the basis that it was unreasonable to deny the ex-employee their right to make an honest living.