The face of the UK’s workforce is set to change “dramatically” from tomorrow (1 October), as employers will no longer be able to use the Default Retirement Age (DRA) to force employees to retire.

This is according to the Financial Skills Partnership, which said the resulting older workforce means employers will have to review their recruitment policies to ensure they continue to stay within the law.

The new legislation coming into force on 1 October marks the completion of the phasing out of the retirement age, which began in April, when employers were no longer able to issue notifications for compulsory retirement using the DRA procedure.

Although the Government cited the healthier and longer lives of workers as the reason for scrapping the DRA, Liz Field, CEO of the Financial Skills Partnership (FSP), believes it will have a significant impact on age diversity in the UK’s workforce, where the focus is often on the younger end of the spectrum.


She said: “The experience and benefits older employees can bring to business should be harnessed. In these difficult economic times, older workers can add resilience to a business’ workforce offering a vital blend of hard-soft skills that allow them to react in a more productive manner to economic crises.


“This group tends to be very competent and reliable, inherently understands employer expectations and usually do not require much additional training, although such training may need to be delivered in a more flexible way. In some ways this group actually beats their younger counterparts in areas like soft skills including; attitude, work ethic, teamwork ability, problem solving and commitment by using the total sum of their life skills and work experiences – all of which are highly valued by employers.”


The Confederation of British Industry, however, was less positive about the change, calling it “counter-productive”. The business body’s chief policy director, Katja Hall, commented: “The DRA was valued, as it helped employers plan ahead and manage changes to the workforce. In the absence of a default retirement age the Government must act now to spell out how employers can have a protected conversation about employees’ retirement plans without fear of tribunals.

“We urgently need an effective new framework for retirement planning.”



The Financial Skills Partnership is currently planning initiatives that highlight the benefits older workers can provide – for example, older, experienced executives who are stepping down from their company roles could bring vast experience as non-executive directors.

Liz Field concluded: “If a company loses its ‘corporate memory’ it can have a huge impact on its business success. Both the economy and society we live in are changing and demand greater flexibility. The skills, past experience, customer knowledge and soft skills provided by older workers are therefore essential in enhancing a changing market.”